Don't Look Back
by PinkRULES453
Summary: Sequel to Supernatural Amnesia; set one year later, Sam and Dean exorcise a demon who reveals some details about events from the first story. These details will lead to new twists and ultimately pull them back into Stephanie's world. M for language/lemons
1. Prologue: Don't Look Back

**Don't Look Back: A Supernatural Amnesia Sequel**

**Prologue**

_Don't Look Back_

It was a year after Sam and Dean Winchester had said goodbye to their friend, Stephanie, leaving her in the loving arms of her husband and family. They had known that it was best for her, even without her making the choice for herself. They needed her to be happy; Dean especially needed it.

Sam and Dean had continued to do what it is that they do; hunt and kill evil sons of bitches. That was their life and it always would be. There was no point in getting sentimental about all the things they would miss out on and not be able to have; wallowing got them nowhere fast. They were Winchesters and they were fighting the biggest, meanest, nastiest creatures out there; there was no time for them to get sloppy.

This day was a day like any other. It started out like it always did; the boys woke up too early in a cheap motel, got their showers and headed out to begin their day questioning people and looking into deaths and omens. They were in Little Rock, Arkansas. The place had been lit up for miles with demonic omens and the boys were determined to fumigate the roaches. They did exactly what their dad taught them to do; find the evil things, kill them and don't look back. Their investigation led them to a group of demons taking over the town officials and wreaking havoc on the people who lived there. They weren't sure why the demons were doing what they were doing, but who could ever figure those bastards out-they were demons after all.

They had the last demon tied to a chair, circled by a devil's trap on both the ceiling and the floor. The demon was laughing at them and giving Dean a gigantic headache.

"Would you please just fucking shut up?" Dean exclaimed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Sam, send him packing, will you?"

Sam rolled his eyes; Dean was such a joy to be around these days. Since he lost Stephanie he was even crankier than he used to be, if that was even possible. Sam focused his attention back on the demon sitting before him, "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursion…"

Sam was cut off by the demon laughing. "What's the matter, can't get it up? Oh, that's right, you quit after Lucifer made you his meat puppet."

Sam got angry. He hated being reminded of that point of his life and the things he had to watch Lucifer do. He continued on with the ritual, "infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica."

"Oh, that's right; after what almost happened with the Stephanie girl you went cold turkey. Well, good going, little Sammy, because you can recite words to me until you're blue in the face, but it's not going to do any good."

"Shut the fuck up!" Sam exclaimed in the demon's face. "Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te. Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare."

"You're adorable!" The demon piped up once again. "You see, I'm not much like the maggots that you killed here before me; I'm stronger, much stronger. And, I'm special."

"Real humble too I see." Dean added sarcastically.

"Piss off, Dean!" The demon spat. "I don't like you."

"Well, I'm just going to go cry now. Sam, keep going."

Sam nodded and began to continue where he left off, "Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei."

"I'm surprised you haven't figured out who I am yet. You're the boy wonder, Lucifer's own chosen one, and you can't even remember one demon."

Sam's nostrils flared, "Do you honestly think this little routine is going to work for you? I'm going to send you back to rot in hell."

"Won't be as much fun as last time though, I'm afraid." He twisted his head to the side, "Don't recognize me without the gorgeous meat suit I was wearing, well, I'm heart broken. Let's see, maybe if you cut me with your special knife and took a drink, you'd remember-"

Sam lost all focus on what he was doing. He suddenly knew what demon he was up against and he was not at all pleased. Sam yanked the knife from Dean's hand and grabbed the arm of the poor bastard the demon was possessing, slicing into it. Sam watched the skin sizzle from where the blade had made contact, "You're going to tell me right now why you did it!"

"I am? That's funny; I don't remember planning on that happening."

"Don't play games with me. I can open your veins and pull you in two minutes flat."

Dean raised his eyebrow. He secretly loved it when Sam was like this; at least he wasn't being his usual bitchy self.

The demon laughed again, "But, you won't. It's been a year, hasn't it? You've gone soft!"

Sam ripped the man's shirt open, the buttons popped off and scattered all over the room. Dean was nearly hit in the eye by one of the shirt buttons, having to duck and swat it away. Sam then used the knife to take a gouge out of the man's chest, the demon screamed out as the skin sizzled. "You're gonna fucking tell me right now why you did it."

"Because Lucifer wanted me to. I'm his favorite, you know, and I've got to say, you don't live up to the hype." He said, looking Sam up and down.

"Why did Lucifer command it?" Sam was on a roll now, he had to know.

"You were there. I know you remember what he said. It had to be her, which is a royal pain in the ass cause we have stipulations you know."

Sam sliced again, through the other arm, "What kind of stipulations?"

The demon rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately we can't just swoop in and take her, she has to be forfeited."

"By who?"

The demon smiled, "A loved one. She had to be forfeited by a loved one. You know, the red tape, it's enough to make you crazy."

Sam grabbed the guy by his shirt and got into his face, "Like a deal?"

"Exactly like a deal."

"Who would make a deal for that?" Sam wanted to kill the maggot, but he needed information.

The demon smiled at him, "Well, you know I can't give away the punch line."

Dean, who had been silent during the whole ordeal, walked over, and pointed at the demon, "Who is this assclown?"

Sam looked at his brother with a sympathetic smile, "The demon who possessed Stephanie."

Dean got a good look at the guy. He looked like an average guy, probably had a successful job, 2.5 kids and a dog. It was a shame that the poor bastard had to have this kind of bad luck, getting himself possessed and everything, but there wasn't anything he could do now to help the guy. In that moment Dean saw red, he felt nothing but hatred. He ripped the knife from Sam's hand and jammed it right through the guy's chest. "That was for Stephanie, you fucking dick!" He let go of the man's shirt and watched him slump back into the chair, blood dripping from every orifice.

* * *

A/N: I was so excited to put Supernatural Amnesia to bed but I can't get this story out of my head...it's haunting me. I hope you like the prologue to the new story. Let me know what you think. I'm always up for suggestions and ideas. I can't promise that I will use them, but if you have something you think is interest, let me know! Hope to get the next couple chapters out real soon. There's some pretty crazy stuff going to happen really quickly. :)


	2. Chapter 1: Fell on Black Days

**Chapter 1**

_Fell on Black Days_

It was Stephanie's favorite time of year again; Christmas. Normally, she would be the merriest person on the block; singing Christmas carols, baking cookies and trimming the tree. Ordinarily she was like Mrs. Claus herself. This year was different. This year she could not get into the Christmas spirit.

She faced the reality that one of the reasons why she wasn't herself this Christmas was because she missed the Winchesters. Sam and Dean had been a big part of her life for a time; sacrificing and caring for her. They had put their own lives on the line in order to save her ass and they did it without second guessing any of it. She especially missed Dean; he was very special and had meant a great deal to her.

More than anything, though, she knew that the biggest reason why she didn't feel much like Christmas cheer was the knowledge of all the evil things looming out there in the dark. She could feel it; the sense of impending doom everywhere she went, the sadness, the oncoming apocalypse that she knew was looming over her head. Just because she had expelled Lucifer from Sam's body and sent him back to hell did not mean that he wouldn't be back and wouldn't seek her out for his evil plans. There was even a great deal of possibility that Lucifer would be stark raving mad at her for interrupting his apocalypse and would seek vengeance on her. There was just no avoiding the terror, the pure agonizing fear. There was no safety from the thoughts of her own mind, the memories of what had happened to her and her terrorizing nightmares. Every morning she awoke in a cold sweat, heart practically palpitating out of her chest. She didn't know how long she could live like this.

Stephanie and Chuck were gathered in Tiffany and Paul's living room, with a group of their great longtime friends from school. It was their annual Christmas bash, the whole gang back together from their busy lives. This was a yearly ritual and one that Stephanie used to love with all her heart and soul. This year, she just wanted to leave.

The apartment was decorated from ceiling to floor in red and green. There were boughs of holly, wreaths and glitter everywhere. There was not one single solitary surface of the place that was not littered with decorations. Those decorations haunted Stephanie; they reminded her of a happier time in her life. They reminded her of a time when Christmas was full of joy, fellowship with family and friends and the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus. Now, whenever she saw Christmas decorations it reminded her of Pagan Gods and the horrors that demons brought to perfectly happy homes.

It was funny to her how she had been able to block a lot of the horrors from herself when she was surrounded by them. In the moment things hadn't seemed so bad, maybe it was because she had been surrounded by the Winchesters who never seemed to be afraid of anything in the world.

The sound of a baby crying cut into the festivities.

Tiffany bolted upright, "Little Mattelyn is crying. I guess we were being too noisy." She jumped out of her seat and headed into the second bedroom, which had become the baby's nursery.

"I could have taken care of that." Paul called to his wife, who was already out of the room.

Stephanie hated the sound of babies crying. The sound reminded her of the baby that that had haunted her dreams; the baby she had lost back when she first found the Winchester brothers. She still had so many questions about that, but she figured there was probably a very simple answer; the demon had ridden her too roughly and the child had not been able to survive it.

She supposed it was even possible that Sam sucking the blood from her had been the baby's demise. She shook her head; she couldn't bear to place blame of that magnitude on one of the people she cared most about in the world. Not being able to handle the memories and the demons she felt following her around made her want to leave even more. She turned to her husband, "Chuck, are we going to leave soon?"

Chuck looked over at his wife and quietly whispered, "We just got here. Lighten up."

Tiffany came back out into the room, smiling. "She got right back to sleep. We will just have to try and be quieter I suppose."

Stephanie didn't know why Tiffany didn't just have her parents watch Mattelyn. She shook her head, annoyed. It was like Tiffany wanted to flaunt that baby in front of her face. She sighed as soon as she thought it; Tiffany was her best friend, there was no way that the woman could be so cruel. It was merely that Tiffany had tried so hard to have a baby that she couldn't bear to be away from her.

It was true; Tiffany and Paul had worked so hard for that child. Stephanie had found out about the baby after she went back home, once she had her memory back. Tiffany had invited Stephanie over to fill her in on everything that had happened while she had been gone. Tiffany had looked on the face of that baby with such devotion that it had broken Stephanie's heart thinking about her own baby who should have been alive. Her baby would have been very close in age to Tiffany's and it would have been wonderful for the two babies to have each other.

Stephanie made a face at Chuck; she didn't like being talked to in this manner that he liked to talk to her. Chuck had a habit of treating her like a child, particularly since she came back from being with the Winchesters. "I'd like to leave soon if that's okay."

Chuck smiled at their friends, Tom and Jenna, who were across the room, actively engaged in sharing a story from their last Cruise, before he turned his attention back to his wife, "We're going to stay a little while longer. You are just going to have to calm down. Stephanie please, we don't want to startle our friends who are trying to have a nice get-together."

"Chuck, please—"

Chuck grabbed onto Stephanie's elbow and pulled her to her feet to stand beside him. He turned to his friends and fellow guests, "We'll be right back; we just need to talk in the kitchen for a quick second."

Stephanie didn't say anything, she was awkward and uncomfortable. She ran her hand through her hair, trying desperately to blend into the woodwork. She caught Paul's eye as Chuck was pulling her out of the room and into the kitchen. Unspoken words could be read in those brown eyes. They spoke of worry, sadness and pain. The look she returned to him was probably much the same.

Tiffany looked at the friends gathered around the room and shook her head, "She hasn't really been the same since the ordeal. You really must excuse her."

Amanda smiled at Tiffany, "It's alright, we all understand that this whole thing has been extremely difficult on both of them." Amanda gestured to Tiffany and Paul, "All four of you really."

Paul grimaced, he hated the whole thing. "Let's stop talking about her like she isn't here, okay?"

Tiffany glared at her husband, giving him a look that no one else could see. She hated when Paul tried to defend Stephanie. Stephanie and Paul's extra-marital affairs had been the bane of her existence and had caused extreme friction within their home.

When Chuck got Stephanie into the other room, he turned to face her, "Stephanie, let's not play this game again, okay? We are here to have a nice time with our friends."

"Listen, I had a nightmare about this party last night. I think something bad is going to happen here." She couldn't explain it. None of her crazy dreams ever made any sense, she just felt like someone was trying to tell her something.

"Stephanie, we've talked about those nightmares. Now, some bad stuff happened to you, but we don't know what really happened. Please don't make me start making you take the medicine again; you know I hate that."

She frowned. Why did it always have to be like this? Why couldn't anyone ever believe what she told them? Of course Chuck hadn't been there when she had been tied up and face to face with Lucifer in Sam's body. He also hadn't been there to witness the powers she possessed when she pulled both Lucifer and Michael from their vessels. There was nothing she could do to make him understand that this really happened.

The nightmares were the reason that Chuck sought professional help for her, as if some psychiatrist could ever understand what she was going through? No, what was worse than never having someone who could sympathize with you was having to sit there and talk to someone who believed you to be crazy. The only reason she had not been locked up in a psychiatric ward was because her husband had refused. Chuck wanted to keep her with him, so that he knew where she was.

There were two things that Stephanie knew without any uncertainty; she was not crazy and somewhere out there was Lucifer who still had horrible evil plans for her. The first thing she had done after she went back home to her husband was to get a tattoo to match the one the brothers had. She was not going to run the risk of ever being possessed again; nobody was going to make her their meat puppet.

"Come on Chuck; don't threaten me with the meds again. You know what they do to me." Stephanie gave him the sour lemon look. She hated those pills; the happy pills as Tiffany liked to call them. The psychiatrist had prescribed her antidepressants along with antianxiety meds. The concoction was terrible; she was like a relaxed vegetable on those medicines.

"Maybe they're necessary."

Stephanie was about to respond when Paul walked into the kitchen. He looked over at Chuck, "Tyler wants to hear all about that camping trip you went on last summer."

Chuck looked back and forth between the two of them; uncomfortable with the idea of them being alone together, unsupervised. He shrugged off his feeling; he didn't feel that Stephanie was in any mood to be shacking up with anyone anyway.

Paul looked at Stephanie, "Would you like to take a nap, the bed's real comfy?"

She gave him a sad smile, "Please, Paul, not you. You're the only one who doesn't make me feel like I'm crazy. So, please don't treat me like I'm going to fall apart or something."

He nodded, "I just care about you, we all do."

She looked up into his warm eyes, "Do you believe that I was possessed by a demon who led me to the Winchesters? Do you believe that Lucifer wanted to impregnate me with his demon spawn to be the ruler of the apocalypse? Paul, do you believe me, I've gotta know?"

"I wasn't there to see any of it for myself, but I believe _in_ you Steph, so if you say that's what happened then yes, I believe that's what happened." His heart ached to make things better for her.

She couldn't help herself; she threw herself into his arms, tears sliding down her cheeks. "You have no idea what that means to me." She looked up at him, fear in her eyes, "I don't want to take the medicine anymore. I'm not crazy."

"What medicine?" Paul's brow was furrowed, how had he gone this whole time never knowing about the medicine?

"The stuff prescribed by the psychiatrist. Paul, I hate him, he labeled me a paranoid schizophrenic with religious psychosis." She spat the words the way she always felt the doctor spat the words at her. "Everything has just been so insane. I realize that it's hard for the average person to believe any of it, but I'm not crazy. I was possessed, I was held prisoner by Lucifer, I did expel the angels from the Winchesters and the demon did kill my baby!"

The color drained out of Paul's face, "Baby? What baby? I didn't know anything about a baby."

She backed up, putting her hand over her mouth; she had said too much. Chuck was going to be royally pissed at her for mentioning that. "Nothing. I didn't say anything, okay?"

The way she was looking at him, so terrified and so helpless, it just tore him up inside. "Okay."

She ran from the room then, ran through the living room where all their friends were, and ran outside, into the car. She sat there, trying to gasp for air; it was all too much, she couldn't take much more. The world seemed to be spinning around her and she didn't know what to do.

Chuck was outside with her in less than two minutes flat. He hopped into the car, beside her. "What happened in there?"

"I don't know, I just had to get out. I'm sorry." And she was sorry. She was sorry that they couldn't lead a normal life with regular people because she always had these overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety.

"I think it would be best if we went back to the motel and got some of the medicine. It would help you relax; it's very hard for me to see you like this." He reached out to stroke her head soothingly.

"No, I can't go back to that motel, not after what happened-"

He cut her off, "Nothing happened there, Stephanie. You ran away to be with those….men. They put wild ideas into your head about evil things that aren't real. We've had this conversation so many times now."

She frowned, "Stop saying that! What happened was real, even Tiffany knew about demons! You believed it then, when it was happening, why don't you believe it now?"

Chuck shrugged, "Does it really matter? If I told you that I knew it was real, would that help you? Would you stop being afraid all the time, would it make it better? I honestly don't think so. So, if you want to get better and get your life back on track then you need to get it through your head that this whole thing was just all in your head. Come on Stephanie, you know the truth."

She sunk into the car seat. She couldn't stand it when he got like this. No matter what she said, there was no way that he was going to admit that what had happened was real and that deep down inside of him he believed all of it. She sighed, "Can we please get out of here? Can we go to Connecticut or something?"

He looked at her, "I want to stay here for a couple of days. We never see our friends anymore."

"Come on Chuck, you know we need to keep moving so they don't find me."

He nodded, resigned to the fact that this move was inevitable. This was the fiftieth place they had gone since she came back to him. They never stayed anywhere longer than two weeks and he knew this time would be no different.


	3. Chapter 2: Mean Little Town

**Chapter 2**

_Mean Little Town_

The Winchesters were standing in Bobby's living room. Dean was pacing back and forth, running his hand over his face. He was frantic. He didn't want to be standing in the man's house, he wanted to be heading to New York to make sure that Stephanie was alright, but Sam had insisted that they go to Bobby's first.

"So let me get this straight, you're gonna go running off to Oswego because some demon told you that one of her loved ones made a deal that made it so she could be possessed?" Bobby asked, trying to get on the same page as the boys.

Dean nodded, "That's right Bobby."

Bobby sat down in front of a stack of books, "This is crazy, even for the two of you. There ain't anything in any of these demon books that say that anyone ever gets possessed in that way."

Dean shook his head, "Well, there wasn't supposed to be anyone out there who could pull angels either, but obviously that's not the case."

Sam folded his arms in front of him, "We realize that this might seem a bit crazy, but we need to try to warn her about what happened."

Bobby shook his head, "That doesn't make a lick of sense. It's not like warning her about what some demon said is going to change anything; she's already been possessed. You taught her and her husband everything you know about how to stop it from happening again. What reason could there possibly be to go there and rile up trouble now?"

Dean groaned, he hated it when Bobby was all logical and made sense. Dean usually prided himself on being reasonable, but when it came to Stephanie all sense went out the window. "Bobby, it seems like there's more here than we thought. There could be other things we don't know about that could lead to other bad things happening."

"Maybe, but do you think that she's actually going to believe the word of a demon over the people she loves?" There Bobby went again, being the voice of reason.

"It doesn't matter; Dean's already decided that we're going to go." Sam had been fully on board with going to find her and make sure she was alright before they had shown up at Bobby's. Maybe the older man was right; maybe Bobby was just a bit wiser to the world than the two of them. He had to admit that Sam and Dean had never been the most rational people in the world when it came to people that they loved; Stephanie was no exception to that rule.

Dean groaned, they were both making him out to be insane. "I can't explain it, but something isn't right here. I think we need to find her and warn her that someone she loves might be mixing it up with the wrong crowd."

Bobby folded his arms across his chest, "They're civilians. People like that don't willingly make deals with demons, unless they're screwed in the head. Most likely one got too close and whispered in their ear. It's usually just a one-time thing with these kinds of deals. There's no sense in troubling them with any of this; not without any further proof that she's in any type of danger. You certainly shouldn't go in there based on the word of a demon. In case you chuckleheads didn't know, demons lie."

Dean rolled his eyes, "We're aware, Bobby." Dean grumbled to himself. He had come into the place with Sam on his team, but now he wasn't so sure. It seemed to Dean like Sam had wavered a bit and was beginning to take up the same opinion as Bobby, which royally pissed him off.

"Now, if you boys are looking for a real job to do, I have one for you." Bobby told them.

"We're listening." Sam told him, trying to get him to go on.

"Newfield, Connecticut." Bobby told them, "It's lit up all over the place. Seems to be demons everywhere. Might be worth looking into."

Sam took the papers from Bobby. "Thanks Bobby. We'll definitely look into it." He turned to look at his brother and couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the guy. He knew that more than anything Dean just wanted to see Stephanie again, but maybe Bobby had been right; maybe going there and rehashing everything that happened would be the worst thing for her. Sam knew in his heart that Stephanie needed to forget about them and move on. She needed to get on with her life, spend time with family and friends and maybe even have a few kids. There was no way that going there and forcing her to relive all of this drama was going to be good for her. He just had to make Dean see that.

Dean lowered his eyes at Sam; what a douche. Sam had acted like he wanted to save Stephanie and warn her about people in her life who might mean to hurt her, but it was all an act. Sam never meant any of it. Dean was determined to keep Stephanie safe, even if he had to do it by himself.

Dean was anxious to get back on the road, even though Sam seemed as though he wanted to stay a little while longer. Sam had even taken up some valuable time to go outside and sit inside that truck of his. Dean had groaned and rolled his eyes, not at all interested in allowing Sam any time to bond with the big hunk of metal. He honestly couldn't believe Sam was really a truck man, he kind of imagined him picking out something a lot girlier.

They helped themselves to a couple of sodas and then hit the road. Dean really would have preferred something a little bit stronger, but Bobby didn't like him drinking and driving. When they got into the car Dean glared at his brother. "You traitor."

Sam raised his eyebrow at Dean, "Come on, the man had a point. I think we'd be doing her a better service if we just let her be. So what if someone she loved made a mistake and she got possessed; I'm sure nobody actually meant to hurt her? Besides, demons do lie."

Dean rolled his eyes and started the car, "This from the guy who let a demon chick into his own bed."

Sam's nostrils flared, "We're not doing this again, Dean. Ever since we said goodbye to Stephanie you've been a royal pain in my ass! All we ever do is bicker and argue and it's getting annoying. I'm sorry that you're upset and that you miss her. I'm sorry that you're unhappy Dean, really I am, but yelling at me and arguing with me isn't going to change anything."

Dean let out a big puff of air. "I don't exactly feel like having sharing and caring time with you right now, Love-a-lot Bear. Now, we're going to go investigate this thing in Connecticut, but first we are going to stop in New York and check on Stephanie. If she's happy and healthy then that's it, I'll drop it and I won't mention it ever again."

Sam nodded, "Fine." He knew there was no stopping Dean once he got something in his head anyway; it was like beating a dead horse. Why waste the time and energy fighting when you already knew how it was going to end?

* * *

Right about the same time that the Winchesters were arguing in their car, Stephanie and Chuck were pulling up to a decent looking motel in Newfield, Connecticut. "This place seems like it might be okay." If there was one thing that she didn't want to do like the Winchesters it was pick motels. Stephanie liked a little bit of luxury; like having clean sheets and wallpaper that didn't peel off the walls when you walked by.

Chuck looked at the building, it seemed like it had all the essentials; full cable, wireless internet and continental breakfasts. He had to admit that this motel didn't seem too bad at all. "We just have to make sure they have a vacancy."

As they went into the motel to check in at the front desk, Stephanie passed by a couple with three little kids. She smiled at them, feeling as though they must be nice people. Both the man and his wife smiled back at her and gave her a look at their natural eyes; all black. Stephanie bristled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. Not again. Why did there seem to be demons everywhere they went? She rushed to catch up with Chuck, who was already booking them a room. She tugged on his arm, "On second thought, I don't really like it here after all. Let's keep looking."

Chuck sighed, "Stephanie, we've already booked the room and I like it here. There's no reason for you to be unhappy."

"But, I just saw—" Stephanie began to say but was cut off by Chuck putting up his hand in irritation.

"You saw nothing of the kind. Everything is fine." He handed her the extra room key and took her suitcase from her, "Let's head to our room so that you can get some rest."

The last thing that Stephanie wanted to do was rest. She was vulnerable when she was resting; vulnerable to nightmares and evil creatures that have horrible things planned for her. She knew in her heart that it wasn't a coincidence that there seemed to be demons everywhere. There was something going on out there but no one seemed to believe her. "By rest, do you mean take the pills?"

Chuck grimaced at her, "Please don't make me out to be the bad guy here; I'm doing this to help you."

She rolled her eyes. She wanted to figure out the right words to say to make him believe her, to stop the madness, but she knew in deep down in her heart that it really didn't matter what she said. There was no way that Chuck would ever admit that everything that had happened had actually happened; he thought he was helping her by pretending that everything had all been a trick her mind played on her. It did not help her to be made to feel insane; all it did was piss her off and make her try harder to fight against it. The more she fought, though, the crazier she looked; it was all just a vicious cycle. She didn't see any relief from the insanity that she was faced to deal with, and attempt to run away from, every day.

Two rooms away from their destination she found a couple more demons, masquerading as nice, normal citizens. They were everywhere, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it except know that out there somewhere was a pair of brothers who knew the truth about her and who were fighting to save her and everyone else in the world. Remembering their pursuits and praying that God would keep her safe from all the evil around her was just about the only thing that she could do to survive this life that she was forced to endure.

When they got to the room, Chuck helped her to slip into her sleepwear and climb into the King sized bed that they were sharing. He rummaged through their totes and withdrew a couple of pill bottles. She drew in her breath knowing there was nothing she could do to keep him from making her take them. "Please, no." She pleaded, her eyes filling with tears.

Chuck frowned, "I'm sorry. I just can't bear to see you like this anymore. You need to take these, they will calm you and you will be able to get some good sleep." She cried harder as he delivered the pills to her with a bottle of water. "Just take these and then you'll sleep and everything will be okay." He placed the pills in her mouth and handed her the bottle of water. He watched her swallow each pill and then made her stick out her tongue to determine that she had in fact taken them. She always hated when he did that; it reminded her of a mental patient in a psych ward who liked to play tricks on the doctors because they didn't want to take the meds. She did not want to be forced to look at their relationship in a doctor/patient kind of way at all.

As she lay there, waiting for the drowsiness to overcome her, she sent out a silent prayer for the safety of those aforementioned brothers whom she missed dearly. 'Sam and Dean, wherever you are, I hope you are safe.' More than anything she wished for that and for them to save her and everyone else from all these demons and Lucifer's big end game. 'Please God; help me not to be a prisoner within myself any longer.'


	4. Chapter 3: Miss You In a Heartbeat

**Chapter 3**

_Miss You in a Heartbeat_

Dean pulled the Impala into the apartment complex where they had said goodbye to Stephanie the previous year. As soon as they were there he was filled with a wide range of emotions; fear, excitement and ultimately hope. He hoped that he would find her happy and healthy; living the life that he wanted for her. He was excited to see her but at the same time, had butterflies in his stomach. Dean was not the type to allow others to see his fear, so he pulled himself together and stepped from the car, putting on an air of confidence and neutrality.

Sam wasn't fooled by his brother's outward show. He knew that deep down Dean was probably coming apart at the seams at the thought of seeing Stephanie again. Of course his number one concern was for her safety but secondly, he worried that saying goodbye was only going to be harder this time. He looked at Dean and shook his head; he just knew this had been a bad idea.

They headed into the complex, Dean leading the way. Though he was hesitant and unsure of what he would find when he got there, he couldn't stop his legs from practically running down the hallway leading to her apartment. When he got there he knocked, forcefully, calling her name through the door.

There was no answer. He turned to look at Sam and they both drew their weapons. Dean backed up and proceeded to kick the door to the apartment right open, practically pulling it off its hinges. They ran in and looked around, no one was there. "Check the kitchen and the bathroom." Splitting up would help them search the place quickly, not that the apartment was all that big.

Sam nodded at his brother and headed into the kitchen to look around. There were dishes in the cupboard, along with some canned foods. Clean dishes were stacked up beside the sink as if they had been left out to dry after being washed. After a quick inspection it was clear to Sam that the dishes were completely dry and didn't appear to have been washed any time in the recent past; gathering from the light coating of dust that had accumulated on the exposed areas. Sam frowned, this finding was very strange.

While Sam was in the kitchen Dean was checking the bedroom. The bed was made and totally without any creases or folds. He quickly went to the closet and opened the doors; there were plenty of clothes and shoes present and accounted for, but there were quite a few hangers that were void of clothing and empty spots were it was evident that shoes had been previously stored. He moved to the dressers, where he found the same thing; a good number of the articles of clothing had been removed, but not all of them.

Sam opened the refrigerator. He found a six pack of beer with only three beers in the cardboard container, some condiments and a full carton of eggs. He scratched his head, who didn't have food in their refrigerator? Hell, he and Dean had more in the motel fridges than they seemed to have in their home one. Searching the bathroom didn't bring him much better results. It was clean and the garbage had been dumped. The linen closet was fully stocked with towels and washcloths and the hamper was empty except for a couple of garments down at the bottom. He went to the medicine cabinet and found a stockpile of all kinds of things. It was full of every kind of medicine a person could dream of, including multiple different types of sleeping pills.

Dean didn't think he was going to find much else in the bedroom that could help them figure anything out but he wanted to be sure. He had no idea why their television sets, DVD players and desktop computer were all still present and accounted for, but they were. There were a bunch of CDs, DVDs and game system games stacked neatly on shelves, and none of them appeared to have been touched. Finally, Dean checked the stand by the bed. When he opened up the nightstand he was completely surprised by what he found; knives, guns, holy water and a rosary. On top of the pile was a Bible that looked as if it had been read many times. He picked it up and opened up to the pages that were bookmarked. One verse in particular really stuck out to him; it was from I Peter 5:8-9.

"_Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."_

It was quite clear to Dean that Stephanie had not stopped thinking about what had happened to her. Her Bible had been a very important tool for her, but why was it still here if she wasn't?

"Dean?" Sam yelled, calling for his brother to join him in the bathroom.

Dean closed the Bible and ran into the bathroom. "What?"

Sam pointed to the open medicine cabinet, "Look at all these sleeping medications."

Dean frowned, he didn't like that Stephanie seemed to have so many problems, but this was a horrible, scary world. If Dean hadn't been dealing with this shit his whole life he would probably be resorted to these measures himself. "Obviously she's had a hard time dealing with everything that happened, but—"

Dean was cut off by the loud exclamation of someone from the living room area. "Who's here? Come out with your hands up or I'll shoot!"

Sam and Dean looked at each other and froze in place. They didn't know if whoever was in there was serious or not, but they didn't exactly want to get shot doing something stupid. The Winchester brothers didn't really see themselves going out of this world in this kind of way. Although, it wasn't like they wouldn't just be brought back anyway.

Dean led the way, his hands up in the air, somehow managing to still hold onto Stephanie's Bible. "Don't shoot!" When he got out there he knew who it was right away. It was Tiffany. He breathed a sigh of relief, "It's just us, and we're not here to hurt anyone."

Tiffany sighed, lowering her gun, "What the hell are you two doing here? Did you break the door down?"

Dean grimaced, "Yeah, about that…"

Sam came to his brother's aid, "We thought that Stephanie might be in trouble. We'll pay for the door."

Tiffany nodded, "Probably a good idea or they'll get charged out the ying yang." She used her gun to point back and forth at each brother, "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"Some of our hunts have led us to believe that Stephanie might still be in danger and so we came to check up on her. Where is she anyway?" Dean asked, getting right to the point.

"Not here. She and Chuck move around a lot these days." Tiffany told them.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Well, do you know where they are?"

"No." She told them.

"They don't check in with you?"

She shrugged, "They do a few times a week, usually. We like to know that they're okay out there, you know? They were just out here actually. We had our annual Christmas party a few days ago, but they didn't stay very long. We had guests here for a couple days and I'm sure they didn't want to bother us when we had company. We will probably hear from them by tomorrow I would think."

Dean folded his arms over his chest, "So, just for shits and giggles, why do you think they've been moving so much?"

"I don't know exactly. I think it might have something to do with the fact that she's clinging to a life that she had with the two of you. More than likely, though, it's probably got something to do with fear. She's got it set in her mind that demons are after her. "

Dean shrugged, "They probably are."

"A person can't live like that; tortured, confused, and scared. She needs to move on from what happened to her. I guess for now if moving around the country helps her to feel better then that's what they'll do. She'll get over it eventually and then they'll come home. They still live here, technically. They still pay rent here, and the landlord doesn't care whether they're physically present or not, just as long as the place is kept up and they keep paying."

As this conversation was going on, Paul was just getting home from work. He walked down the hall of the apartment complex, on his way to his own apartment, but stopped outside of Stephanie and Chuck's apartment. He was curious about the way the door was broken and hanging on the hinges in a really unstable kind of way. When he spotted the Winchesters he quickly moved out of eyeshot of Tiffany and Dean. He didn't know why, but for some reason he didn't want his wife to know he was there.

There was so much that Dean wanted to ask; so many questions burning into his brain. He wanted to know how Stephanie was doing. He wanted to know if she and Chuck were happy, if they had fixed their marriage. He wanted to know so much, but he didn't feel comfortable asking her. Instead of continuing on with this banter that was getting them nowhere, he decided that they would just get out of there and try to kill some demons in Connecticut. "Well, since they're not here then I guess we'll be going."

As Dean had been talking to Tiffany, Sam had moved over towards the door, where Stephanie kept a small wooden stand with a drawer built into it. On top of this stand was where the phone was kept, with a pad of paper to take messages on. Sam went there, on a mission and while he was there, he looked up, spotting Paul hiding just outside the door. He exchanged a look with the man, somehow knowing enough not to blow his cover. Instead of saying anything to or about Paul, he grabbed the pad of paper and a pen that was nearby and wrote out a couple of phone numbers that they could reach the brothers at. As soon as he had written the numbers out he moved back over towards Tiffany and handed the piece of paper to her, flashing her a nice and friendly smile, "If you find out where they are, please give us a call at one of those numbers and we'll answer, any time of the day or night."

Tiffany nodded at the younger Winchester, "Okay, I will."

Dean handed her a credit card, "You can use this to pay for the door."

Tiffany scrutinized the card, "Steven Tyler?" She looked back at Dean with her eyebrows raised.

Dean shrugged, "It will work, I promise." With that they climbed through the wreckage that had once been the door. Sam looked around carefully, but Paul was nowhere to be seen. Had he only imagined that he had been standing there outside the door or had Paul somehow managed to get away quickly? He didn't know and he decided not to think much of the whole thing and just headed back to the Impala. When they were back outside, Dean turned to look at his brother, "Well, that was a gigantic waste of time."

Sam shrugged, "I don't know what you expected to happen?"

Dean frowned, "Well, for one thing I expected her to be living in her own apartment, not traipsing all over the country. Do you know how hard she's going to be to find?"

Sam put up his arms, "Oh no, it's not going to be like the search for Dad all over again. We're going to let her be. We're going to leave this alone."

Dean held up Stephanie's Bible, "Look, it's clear to me, from everything that we saw in there, that she's struggling. She's afraid and you know, maybe she has reason to be. We need to find her and keep her safe. End of story." Dean wasn't playing games with Stephanie's safety. Maybe he was being overly cautious; maybe he was letting his feelings for her cloud his judgment, but he couldn't care less. Sometimes instincts are all you have in times like these. Dean fully intended to make use of his instincts as much as he possibly could.


	5. Chapter 4: Hysteria

**Chapter 4**

_Hysteria_

Stephanie had been asleep for hours, peaceful for the first time in weeks. Chuck had tried to sleep, finding no rest. He could not shut his mind off; it was running in overdrive. There was so much on his mind lately. He feared for Stephanie and the hysterics and he feared for their marriage; how long could they live like this? How long could they keep running from something that Chuck wasn't even sure was real?

Chuck really needed some fresh air. He slid from the bed that he and Stephanie had been sharing and felt the cold air hit him quickly. Everything lately seemed cold to him; he knew it was December and generally the month was cold, but it was more than that it seemed. He didn't understand how their lives had come to be this way; on the road, traveling from one motel to another, eating at every diner and restaurant along the way.

He felt stifled and out of control in this motel room. All he wanted to do was beat his fist through the wall, but that would do nothing to help his wallet or his wife's fears. He sighed as he changed back into the clothes he had been wearing prior to getting undressed for bed and slipped on his slippers. Glancing back over to the bed, he watched Stephanie sleep. She seemed to sleep so much more peacefully after she took the medicine; there was no doubt about it, she needed those drugs, as much as she said she didn't.

When he got outside he could think more clearly. Seeing Stephanie, being in the same room with her, reminded him of how things were for all those months when she had been missing. He hadn't known where she had been and what had been happening to her. Torture wasn't a strong enough word to describe how those months had felt to him. He had seriously hoped that when he got her back that things would have been better. Before she left, the relationship had been rocky at best; they had even been reduced to sleeping apart. That time in his life had been horrible and then to find out that his wife had been going behind his back and sleeping with his best friend-it was heart wrenching. But, if he had thought that time had been bad, it was nothing compared to the time when she had been gone and he didn't know if she was even alive. 'If something had happened to her, it would have been my fault.' He told himself, feeling desperation creeping into him once again.

He took in a deep breath, trying to fight the hysteria he was feeling. Nothing in their lives felt settling, even for him. He knew that it was worse for Stephanie, harder for her to get back to being herself, but Chuck wasn't exactly having a picnic either. As he stood there he felt cold that went beyond that of the season. He felt a literal chill up and down his spine, like someone was watching him and waiting to strike him down when he least expected it. He didn't know what to do to make the feeling pass, so he did the only thing he felt he could do in that moment, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed a very familiar number.

She answered. He knew she would answer; she had never failed him, ever. "Tiff, I'm so glad you picked up."

"I always pick up when you call me, Chuck." Tiffany said with a whisper, sitting up in her bed and slowly moving out of the room so as to not wake Paul.

It didn't work, Paul's eyes opened. He had been waiting for something to happen, sleeping with one eye open. He silently escaped the bed and slipped from the bedroom, pushing his body up against the wall next to the bathroom, where he could hear her talking.

"Chuck, come on, you know it's better for both of you when she takes them." Tiffany had been trying to tell her friend, calming him.

Chuck sighed, "It's just so hard to see her like that and know that I'm doing this against her will."

Tiffany frowned, "Chuck, crazy people don't recognize that they're crazy, that's why they need people they love to force them to take medication and do what they need to do in order to save them. You're just following the doctor's orders. I know it's hard, but you have to do it."

Paul frowned, hating what his wife was saying about Stephanie and the fact that this was going on under his nose. How many conversations had these two had without him knowing?

Tiffany went on, "Chuck, you know as well as I do that you can't stay there." She paused, "That's right; you need to get your stuff and get out of there. They're after you."

Chuck groaned, how long was it going to be like this? "Maybe I should just stay and face it like a man."

Chuck could almost hear Tiffany shaking her head, "No, my grandfather was a hunter and I'm telling you that you need to trust me. I know stuff about this, you know. It is much better for you to leave and stay under the radar."

Chuck rolled his eyes, "How long, Tiff? How long will it be like this?"

"You know I can't read the future, Chuck. All I can tell you is that you're going to lose her if you don't get out of there."

Paul frowned; what the fuck was his wife talking about? He moved ever so slightly so that he could see her; she was sitting on the toilet with the cover down, filing her nails. She didn't look all that concerned, Paul found that awfully strange.

"I can't live like this, Tiffany. I can't keep seeing her so worked up and afraid. Not to mention the fact that I can't handle always feeling like there's someone on my ass. It's doing me in, Tiffany. I think I'm starting to go gray." Chuck continued to pace back and forth in front of the motel the entire time they were talking.

"Well, it's not really like a walk on the beach for me either, you know. You have no idea what it's like living with my bonehead, either. With all that pinning and longing; it's sickening." Tiffany practically spat the words into the phone. "Honestly, if it wasn't for the baby I have no idea if we'd still be together."

Paul bristled. How dare she talk about him in this way? He had admitted to everything that he had done and they had sought out counseling in order to fix their marriage. He was doing his part, why wasn't she following through on her end? He had to admit that she was right about one part of it though; he probably would have dumped her ass a while ago if they didn't have the baby. He wanted to do the right thing for his daughter and staying together with her mother was just about the best thing he could think of to do for her.

"It's okay; at least I get to talk to you once in a while. Where are you two right now anyway?" Tiffany asked.

Paul opened his ears; this was the information that he really wanted. He held his breath, willing her to say the location out loud so that he could know.

"Newfield, Connecticut." She said, quietly, "That's not a good place, Chuck, I can sense it."

Paul wrinkled up his nose, what was she now, like some kind of fucking fortune teller or something? In that moment he knew what he had to do. As much as he wanted to stay and overhear their entire conversation, he knew he had to do something to make himself useful; do something to help Stephanie. So, he quickly hid behind some furniture, in an effort to bypass the opening of the bathroom door, where Tiffany sat.

He did it. He managed to sneak through the apartment without her knowledge and slip out the door, headed over to Stephanie and Chuck's place. When he got to their door he very quietly cursed to himself, noticing how it had been boarded up. It was clear that he would not be able to get into their apartment easily through the door, without making a lot of noise, so that plan was out. There had to be another way in….the windows. He groaned, realizing that in order to get in the windows he would have to go outside and sneak in the back way.

He looked down at his feet; he was only wearing a pair of thin socks. He practically whined out loud, not wanting to step foot outside like this, but there wasn't much he could do; he certainly didn't have time to sneak back into his own apartment for a pair of boots. He shrugged it off and headed for the outside door of the apartment complex. When he got outside he let out a yelp when his feet made contact with the cold, wet snow. There was no way around he, he had to work fast. He basically ran all the way around the building, stopping behind Stephanie and Chuck's bedroom window. He made a face, he wasn't exactly the tallest man in the world and it was going to be hard to get in there. He knew from experience that the window was never locked, which was a very good thing.

Paul stretched as high as he possibly could, being able to grab onto the base of the window and push it up. Once the window was open, he could wrap his arm over the ledge and pull himself up and into the window. He somehow managed to hang on and not kill himself, though he almost fell a couple of times.

When he got inside he stilled. It didn't seem as though he could hear anyone yelling from the next door apartment so Tiffany must not have known that he was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed into the living room, over to the pad of paper where Sam had jotted their numbers down the previous day. He studied the pad of paper thoroughly, a smile forming on his face when he realized that Sam had written it hard enough to create indentations in the paper underneath. He grabbed a pencil from the drawer and scribbled over the top of the indents. There they were; he had the numbers that he needed!

Smiling like the Cheshire cat, he ripped the paper from the pad and folded it up, slipping it into the pocket of his sleep pants. He put the pad and the pencil back exactly as he had found it and then went back into the bedroom, in order to leave the way he had come in. He grimaced as he thought of his feet getting soaked and frozen more than they already had. Before he left back through the window he went to the dresser and pulled a pair of Chuck's dry, clean socks from one of the drawers and slipped them into his other pocket.

He made his way back out the window and then back around the building and into the main door of the complex. Once he was in the building, he made a face and slipped his soaked socks from his poor, frozen feet and dropped them into the building's garbage can. He quickly slipped into Chuck's socks and then headed back down the hall and into his apartment silently, hiding behind furniture to bypass the open bathroom door, where Tiffany was still sitting and talking with Chuck. He was irritated that she found all this time to talk to his old best friend but was also internally grateful that he had been given the time he needed to get the information that he needed.

He silently slipped back into the bed and turned over onto his side, pretending to sleep. A few minutes later he felt Tiffany slipping back into the bed beside him. He wrinkled up his nose, thinking about how he wished she was somewhere else, but he kept up his act. He made sure to breathe nice and deeply so as to make her think that he was asleep, desperately trying to hold his sleep off until she got there herself. There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than for her to fall asleep so that he could tend to the business that he had sought for himself. He needed to be useful; he had been kept in the dark for so long, it was time that he knew what was going on with the people that he loved and was able to do something to make a difference.


	6. Chapter 5: Fly By Night

**Chapter 5**

_Fly By Night_

Paul lay in the bed for a little bit, trying to be sure that Tiffany had fallen asleep. When Paul heard her breathing heavily and felt confident that she was asleep, he pretended to stir and sat up in bed. He slid out and was sure to put on his slippers; his feet were still frozen solid.

"Paul, what are you doing?" Tiffany asked, groggily.

Paul scowled. What the hell, didn't she ever sleep? "I need to use the bathroom, is that alright with you?" He hadn't meant to be such an ass but he was irritated as all hell.

"Fine, sorry." She mumbled, laying back down and relaxing her body once again.

Paul grimaced, he hated being mean like that, she just really pissed him off. It was almost like being a prisoner in his own house; he never felt like he was free to go and do as he pleased. He quickly slipped into the bathroom, stopping to grab his cell phone from the charging base on the way. When he got into the bathroom he pulled the paper from his pocket and dialed the first number on the list, not wanting to waste any time.

* * *

In the Impala, Dean was driving as he had been for the previous 20 hours straight, and he was tired; really tired. Dean was so tired that he couldn't stop to sleep. His body was physically spent and he could hardly see, but there was no way his mind would shut down enough for him to get any kind of quality rest. He had such a bad feeling about Stephanie and had no idea where she was and if she was safe. All he had to cling to was the fact that Tiffany had said that she had been in New York a few days prior. If that was the case, and Tiffany's word could be trusted, than most likely she was at least alive.

Dean looked over at his brother, who looked completely at ease, asleep in his seat. Dean smiled, he loved watching his brother sleep, but not in a creeper sort of way. It was from all those years of staying awake to look after Sam and make sure that the evil things didn't get to him. Dean was thinking back to the times when they had been kids and Dean had basically raised Sam, due to the regular absence of their father. That kind of life created those firm bonds of brotherhood, to the point where Dean sometimes felt like he was Sam's father. As he was reminiscing, Sam's cell phone began to go off….noisily.

Sam stirred, but Dean wanted to keep his brother from waking, so he quickly reached over and pulled the phone out of Sam's coat pocket. He didn't recognize the number but it didn't matter, if someone was calling this number than it meant that it was a matter of vital importance.

"Hello?" Dean asked into the phone.

"Dean?" Paul asked, wanting to make sure he knew which brother he was speaking to.

"Yeah, who's this?"

Paul took a deep breath and whispered, "Its Paul."

Dean perked up; he hadn't been expecting a call from him. He wondered what was going on. He quickly leaned over to shake his brother awake, needing Sam to know what was going on.

Sam woke up, quite suddenly, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Who was Dean talking to? Was that his phone? "Dean, who are you talking to?"

Dean's attention was solely on Paul. "What's up, why did you call?"

Paul sighed, "Look, I don't know what I'm doing, really. It's just that-" His voice trailed off and Dean could no longer hear anything that Paul was saying.

"Can you possibly speak up?" Dean asked, trying not to sound as impatient as he felt.

Paul shook his head, "Not really, I don't want to be overheard. Things around here have been all kinds of psycho lately. I woke up to find Tiffany having an intense conversation with Chuck via cellphone a little while ago."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Please tell me you called because you had more to share with me than jealous rants. Come on, Paul, you gotta give us something here."

Sam sat up really straight, Paul was on the phone? Paul, who he had watched hiding outside of the door to Stephanie's apartment. He really wanted to know what was going on and wished that he had been the one to answer his own phone.

"I don't know all that much, all I know are the few things that Stephanie told me when they were here and what I overheard Tiffany saying. I guess Chuck has been taking her to see psychiatrists who have prescribed her medications. She hates taking them because she says she's not crazy, but the doctor thinks she's paranoid and delusional or something; I can't remember the specific diagnosis. Anyway, Chuck makes her take these medicines, but I guess not all the time." Paul kind of rambled on very quickly, not sure what details were important for the brothers to know and also unsure of whether he really should be saying everything that he was saying.

"Do you know where they are?" Dean was doing his best to remain calm and keep his patience in line, he did not want to freak out and yell at the guy. Paul was trying to help them, the last thing he wanted to do was piss him off.

Sam tapped his brother on the arm and reached his hand out, "Let me talk to him."

Dean scowled at his brother, "No, Sam, stop it. Go on, Paul."

Paul ran his hands over his face, "I believe they're in Newfield, Connecticut."

Dean's heart practically thudded through his chest. "That's where we're headed. The place is crawling with demons; that's why we're headed there."

Paul nodded, though the brothers couldn't see it, "She has been acting like she really believes that someone is out to get her lately. It's the big reason why Chuck keeps giving her these medications. They also calm her down and I assume it's easier for him to deal with her that way." Paul hated saying the words, he hated how crude and heartless they made Chuck sound.

"What she's been through-" Dean started, fuming, ready to take his anger out on Paul.

Sam took that moment to violently rip his cell from Dean's hand and take over the conversation with Paul. Dean glared at his brother, wanting to punch him in the jaw. Sam raised his eyebrow at Dean, almost as if to say that he could try it if he wanted to. Sam was not about to start being intimidated by Dean, not at this point in his life. "Hey Paul, its Sam."

Paul relaxed a little bit, feeling as though he wasn't going to have his head ripped off anymore, "Hey. Did you hear everything I told Dean?"

"I heard enough." Sam said. He was sure that he could piece together everything from what he had overheard and what he didn't hear he knew his brother would fill him in on later.

"That's all I know. I wish I knew more, but the way they've been keeping me out of the loop, I'm surprised I managed to find out what I did." Paul told him.

Sam nodded, "I wish I knew what to tell you, Paul. All we know is that someone did something that allowed all those bad things to happen to her and we need to know who that is. It seems as though there's still more bad stuff out there that wants her, she has been chosen to play a role in the apocalypse and we thought it was over, but maybe we were wrong."

Dean glared at Sam, even more pissed off than he had been before. Why was he sharing so much information with Paul?

Sam went on, ignoring his brother, "Do you know of any of Stephanie's loved ones who could have had a motive to let the evil things get to her?"

Paul shook his head, "I can't imagine anyone doing something to willingly hurt her."

"It might not have been like that. Most likely the person was tricked by someone." Sam explained.

"I don't know, I just wish they would come home. She told me at the party that I'm the only one who doesn't make her feel crazy. I hate that she has to feel that way around everyone else. I just want her home where I can know that she's safe. I care a lot about her; maybe more than I should." Paul frowned; he shouldn't be sharing this information with the Winchesters. They had feelings for her as well, particularly Dean, and he shouldn't set himself up for this kind of stuff. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be talking about this."

Sam felt bad for the guy. "No, it's okay, I understand. So, I get the impression that you want to help her, right?"

"Of course; I'll do anything to help her, anything at all." Paul agreed, wholeheartedly.

Sam nodded, "Okay. Then, we need to know that if we need anything from you that we can call on you to help us. We need to know everything that you can find out about Stephanie and her friends and family. Paul, are you with us? Can we count on you?"

Paul bit his lip, he hated that he would have to sneak around behind his wife's back to listen in on conversations and be an a-hole, but he did want to help Stephanie. "Yes, I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

"Thanks Paul, thanks for all your help. We will call you if we find her." Sam said his goodbyes and hung up the phone, turning to look at his pissed off brother.

"Why the hell did you do that? I had it all under control." Dean yelled.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Dean, you haven't exactly slept in a long time and you don't seem all that rational right now. I was afraid you were going to ream the guy a new asshole."

Dean groaned, he hated it when Sam got like this, "I just want to do my fucking job."

Sam shook his head, "No, you want to go at this like gangbusters. You want to swoop in and save the girl and we don't even know who or what is responsible for any of this. We don't even know the whole story yet, Dean. What we need is to be kissing Paul's ass for details. We need to put pieces together."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Dean asked. "Chuck's been drugging her. That's unacceptable."

"They're medicine prescribed by a doctor, Dean. It's not like he's lacing her food with poison."

"Giving meds to someone who doesn't need them is pretty much the same damn thing. No, he's not killing her, but he's changing her personality and making her apathetic. I personally don't think it's good for her to be like that when there could be-and most likely are-demons on her ass." Dean was livid. He had to pull the car over so that he didn't kill both of them. They would be no use to Stephanie if they were dead. He looked over at Sam after he had calmed down slightly, "Besides, you shouldn't be giving him information that he doesn't need to know."

"Why? The guy is helping us, the least we can do is be open with him." Sam asked.

"I'd like to think he's on the up and up too Sam, but you have to face the reality here that someone is doing something underhanded behind someone's back. We don't want to get caught with our pants down."

This time, Sam knew that his brother was speaking rationally. If there was one huge character flaw in Sam, one that he had control over anyway, it would be that he has a habit of being too trusting. He has gotten himself into more trouble because he has trusted the wrong people. He couldn't afford to do that, not if Stephanie was in danger.

* * *

It was 3 AM, but Chuck didn't care; he had to get out of there. He had to take Tiffany's advice and get them out before something bad happened. He practically ran back to their room and shook Stephanie awake. He knew she would be very groggy, but he didn't care.

"Sweetie, wake up, okay?" He asked her gently, knowing she might be confused when she woke.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him blankly. "Huh?" She was so tired but she couldn't remember why.

"Steph, I changed my mind about this place; I don't like it here after all. We are going to leave."

"Okay." She said with a shrug.

"Can you get up for me? We need to get our stuff all together and pack the car up. I'd like to go momentarily." He wiped her hair from her face.

She tilted her head so that she could kiss the hand that was touching her face so sweetly. "Sure, whatever you want." She smiled at him and his heart melted. He loved it when she was peaceful like this. She pulled her body up into a sitting position and worked hard to get out of the bed. Her head felt a little bit funny and she was so tired. "I'm so tired; do you think we could wait until morning?"

He felt bad. Those drugs really wiped her out and she really needed him to give her a full night's sleep in order to function with them in her system. She looked very wobbly on her feet, so he went to her, catching her body as she collapsed into his arms.

"I'm sorry," She said, "I'll be okay."

He kissed her forehead, "No, don't worry about it. I'm going to carry you, okay?"

She nodded and smiled at him again, before she nestled her head in the crook of his neck and fell back to sleep. He picked her up into his arms and carried her bridle style out to the car.


	7. Chapter 6: Round and Round

**Chapter 6**

_Round and Round_

Sam and Dean pulled into Newfield, Connecticut at 4:00 AM; an hour after Chuck had carried Stephanie from her bed. Dean looked over at Sam, "How are we going to know where they are?"

Sam shrugged, "You're the brains of this operation, scary as that is."

Dean rolled his eyes, "You're hilarious!" He was just too tired to play stupid little irritating games with his brother.

"I would assume that they must be staying at a motel or hotel somewhere in the area. We need to find all the possible places and start narrowing it down." Sam told Dean, pointing out why Dean needed him.

"Well, that's your department, Matlock."

Sam rolled his eyes, "It's times like these that we really need a GPS."

"Come on Sam, just do what you usually do; stare at the computer screen for five seconds and have the answer."

"I'm not a magician." Sam rolled his eyes at his brother; Dean was just so irritating when he was stressed out and running on no sleep. Part of Sam kind of wanted to hit Dean over the head and force him into getting sleep just so that he would be easier to deal with.

"Good thing too cause I hate those douche nozzles." Dean was so tired he didn't even know what he was saying.

Sam raised his eyebrow, "Why don't you catch some shut eye for a few minutes and let me get to work?"

Dean held up his hands and simultaneously felt his head fall to the steering wheel. Sam looked over at his brother and chuckled.

* * *

A few hours later, Stephanie awoke in the very uncomfortable seat of their car. She groggily ran her hand over her face and groaned, "Ugh, what time is it?"

Chuck smiled, glad to see that she was waking up, "7 in the morning."

She groaned again, "Why am I not in a bed?"

"You don't remember me waking you in the middle of the night?" Chuck was exhausted, he felt like he almost had to literally hold his eyes open in order to stay awake.

She scrunched up her forehead, thinking, "No, why'd you do that?" She was still drowsy, but she was coherent.

"Just decided I didn't like the place."

She nodded, "Ah." Before she could think to say anything else in response she was once again asleep.

Chuck laughed to himself about how easily she fell asleep when she was on the medicine. At least she could get some rest, finally. He had to admit, though, that she wasn't very much fun to talk to like this.

* * *

Dean woke up with a jolt. He had fallen asleep on the steering wheel and had somehow managed to press the horn with his face, scaring the crap out of him and forcing him to wake up very quickly. "Holy shit!"

Sam laughed. He had been reading and calling people when it happened so he had been startled as well, but not to the extent that Dean had been startled. "Time to wake up anyway."

"What'd you dig up?" Dean asked, still sleepy.

"Well, Bobby told me that there seems to be a demon infestation at the Holiday Inn on Skinner Ave. I think that's where we need to go."

Dean straightened up, "You think the demons are surrounding her?"

Sam shrugged, "I have no clue. We don't know for sure that's where they are, but it's certainly a good place to start."

Dean had to agree. If there were demons in the area then Stephanie would ultimately be safer with the demons gone. Sam gave Dean the directions to the motel that they were going to check and Dean drove there; unsure of what they would find when they got there.

* * *

Stephanie woke up again a half an hour later. Her body was struggling to regain control over itself and fight off the effects of the drugs that he had given her.

"Why don't you try to get a bit more rest?" Chuck asked her.

She looked over at him, assessing him, "You look exhausted. Why don't you just find somewhere to stay for a few hours?"

Chuck didn't want to show her how panicked he was by the idea of stopping before they were at the next location safely, so instead he just shook his head. "I'm okay. I'd like to just get there, and then I will sleep."

"Where are we going anyway?" She was more aware of her surroundings than she had been the previous time that she had woken up, but she wasn't completely back to being herself yet.

"Columbus, Ohio."

Even in her drowsy state she knew that was crazy, "Whoa, we are not driving all the way to Ohio without stopping."

He nodded, "I can do it."

"You'll have to let me drive." She told him, knowing full well that if she was going to be driving later on that he would not be able to give her anymore of that stupid medicine.

"No, you cannot drive with that medicine in your system." Chuck told her.

"It's already starting to wear off; I'll be ready in a few hours. Why not pull over and have a power nap in the mean time?" She didn't like to see him run ragged.

"I'll be okay. You just sleep off the drugs and then we'll talk when you're back to yourself again." He had to admit that a nap sounded fantastic, but he couldn't stand the thought of pulling over onto the side of the road or even into a rest stop and sleeping. Both of them asleep, in the car…it was not very safe. He would just have to press on, hoping that he could withstand that kind of sheer exhaustion.

* * *

Sam and Dean pulled up to the Holiday Inn and parked the car. They looked at each other, warily, as they stepped from the vehicle. There seemed to be a bit of panic surrounding the building and they didn't know what to make of it.

As they walked into the building, people were rushing around, frantically, looking for their family members and friends. Some people were crying, some were screaming and others were actually bleeding. Almost immediately the sound of sirens could be heard. "What the hell happened here?" Dean asked to Sam, knowing full well that Sam knew just as much as he did.

They walked over to the front desk and looked at the receptionist behind the counter, flashing F.B.I. badges at her. "I'm Agent Elliot and this is my partner Agent Willis. We're looking for a couple that we believe is staying here." Dean asked.

Sam took this time to add his own question to the mix. "What exactly seems to be going on around here anyway?"

The receptionist frowned, "Well, we are unsure at this time. A few hours ago things just kind of went crazy. People started running from their rooms, not knowing how they got here, where their family members were and other crazy things. Some people were actually injured but they had no recollection of any accidents. It's all very strange."

Dean cocked his head to the side, "Were you here when it happened?"

She shook her head, "My shift started just after the chaos began. This is my first day back after my honeymoon. Some first day back, huh?"

Sam smiled, "Congratulations."

She smiled back and nodded at him.

Dean rolled his eyes, "So, I'm assuming the place wasn't this crazy when you were here last?"

"No, most definitely not."

Sam continued on with the investigation, "As my partner mentioned we need some information."

She smiled, "I will sure try, but with all the chaos I can't guarantee that everyone will be present and accounted for. What is the name of the couple that you are looking for?"

"Hill. Chuck and Stephanie Hill. You could also try Charles Hill." Dean told her.

She typed a few things into her computer and then looked back up at them, nodding her head. "They checked in yesterday afternoon, but it says here that they checked out around 3 AM."

Dean was ready to let loose a string of obscenities but Sam said thank you and pulled him from the counter. "Keep your professional face on, Dean."

"What the hell? They weren't even here 24 hours!" Dean exclaimed.

Sam shook his head, "I don't know, but let's think about what we do know. They left at 3 AM to go somewhere. Within a couple of hours later everybody here goes crazy."

"The demons bolted." Dean said. "But, where did they go?"

Sam locked his eyes on Dean's. They both knew the answer to that question and they both hated that answer. "They're definitely after her, Sam. Damn it!" Dean had known that she was in danger and now he believed that his suspicions had been confirmed.


	8. Chapter 7: I Don't Want to Live Without

**Chapter 7**

_I Don't Want to Live Without You_

Stephanie awoke in a cold sweat, with a slight headache and a crick in her neck. It was three hours after the previous time she had woken up. She knew she was finally back to normal. The nightmares had found her again; the tell-tale sign that she was no longer under the influence of the medication. She took a second to process everything around her; the car, the scenery, and the look of pure exhaustion on her husband's face. She smiled when her ears caught on to what Chuck was listening to on the radio, "Bruno Mars?"

He turned to look at her, visible bags under his eyes, "Yeah, you love Bruno Mars."

She shrugged, "He's good." It wasn't what she really wanted or expected to be listening to as they drove all over the country, but it was alright.

"If there is something else you'd rather listen to…." His voice trailed off.

She smiled, "Nah, its fine."

He smiled, "Can I tell you a secret about this song?" He asked her.

She nodded, "Of course."

"The first time I heard it, I actually cried." He felt a little silly sharing this with her, but he needed her to understand the significance, "The words really speak to me, you know? It's exactly how I feel about you."

She cocked her head to the side. "Just the Way You Are" is a beautiful song and certainly very sweet. These are feelings that she would wish for her husband to feel for her, but she found it hard to believe under the circumstances. She raised her eyebrows, hoping that what she had to say didn't come off as crass and they could potentially, "If that's the case then why do you keep giving me the meds?"

He sighed, "I just want everything to be alright."

"So you drug me?"

He wrinkled up his nose, "Steph, please don't put it like that. I'm just following the doctor's orders."

She folded her arms over her chest, "The doctor thinks I'm crazy. Do you agree with him?"

Chuck drew in a deep breath, "I think that you've been through some terrible things and you have anxiety about it and maybe your mind plays tricks on you."

"Delusional, that's what he called me!" She was raving mad now. "He said I had religious psychosis. Do you know what psychosis means? It comes from the word psychotic. Chuck, the guy found a fancy way of saying that I'm paranoid, delusional and psychotic. Those words don't really describe someone who's 'mind plays tricks on them.'" She said, using air quotes to mimic his words.

"I'm sorry, Steph. I didn't know what else to do but take you to the doctors. I couldn't bear to see you like that anymore. It's so hard to watch you waste away every day and sit back and do nothing about it. I couldn't live with myself if you got worse because I wasn't trying hard enough to get my wife back."

She glared at him, "You got your wife back. I left the only people in the world who really know me to come back to you. I did that for you and for God, because I love you and because I made a promise to you. Doesn't that count for anything? How can you seriously say that you don't have your wife back?"

He looked down at his hands, "You're different, Steph. You're not the girl I married. She was full of life, happy, vivacious, outgoing, strong and absolutely amazing. I just want her back, just like she used to be."

Stephanie frowned, "I'm sorry. When bad things happen to people they change. After everything I've heard, seen and been a part of, there's no way I can just pretend like it didn't happen and become that girl again. I lost all my memories, Chuck; I had to start my life over again from scratch. I had to form a new identity with new people. Just because I got my memories back it doesn't negate everything about me that changed. I'm different now and if you want to be with me, really be with me, then you're going to have to come to love and accept me for who I am now, because this is what I've got to offer." Tears were running down her face and she quickly brushed them away, afraid of being so emotional. She didn't want to be accused of being crazy again.

He felt bad. He finally did something that he had been fighting; he pulled the car over onto the shoulder of the road. He reached for her, wanting to embrace her, hold her close to him. He wanted her to know that he loved her, no matter what. He felt horrible that she didn't seem to know that; he had obviously fallen short of his responsibilities as a husband. He might as well have been embracing a statue. She didn't move and she didn't mold her body against his own; she froze, tensing her body up tightly. This was what their relationship had been reduced to. She was cold, unresponsive to his touch, almost as if she was afraid of him. This was NEVER what he wanted their relationship to turn into. He held back his own tears, "I need you to know that everything I have ever done has been for you. I've made plenty of mistakes, but I've always done it because I love you."

She didn't know what he was talking about and she was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. "Hey, you look extremely exhausted. Why don't you let me drive for a while?" She smiled at him, "The meds have worn off, completely. I'm fit to drive now. I'd feel a lot safer if you got some sleep so you don't pass out at the wheel and kill us both."

He nodded, realizing that she was right. Maybe things wouldn't seem so horrible after he got some sleep. "You're probably right."

She smiled at him, knowing that finally she was going to get to feel a bit in control of things for once. They switched places in the car and she took her place at the wheel, adjusting the seat so that she was comfortable and could reach the pedals. After she adjusted the mirrors she was ready to rock and roll. He settled into the passenger seat, wrapping himself up in a blanket. She could hear his heavy breathing and light snoring after only a couple of minutes and knew that he was out like a light.

The first thing she did after pulling the car back onto the road was change the radio station. She found the local classic rock station and smiled when she heard the familiar soft tones of one of Foreigner's greatest hits. She really loved this song. She took a few minutes to listen to the words of the song and think about her own life.

"…_I know I've reached the right destination and I know it's real. I'm longing for the time, I'm longing for the day, when I'll be giving you this heart of mine. Believe me when I say: I don't want to live without you; I don't want to live without you… I could never be without you; be without your love."_

It was then that she knew that she had to work harder to fight for herself. She had to start living right. She looked over at Chuck and made sure he was dead to the world, before she slipped her hand into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. Keeping one eye on the road, she managed to scroll through all of this calls. With the exception of three calls to 'home', which had to mean his parents, every single phone call for the last few months at least was to Tiffany. In checking the times of the calls she noticed that they were all at weird times of the day, usually in the middle of the night. Why was he calling Tiffany behind her back almost every single night? She took a deep breath through her nose and retrieved the phone number that she was looking for; Paul.

She found the nearest rest stop and pulled in, getting out of the car to give herself some privacy to make the phone call. The phone rang five times and had even started to go to voicemail before Paul picked up. "Chuck? I didn't expect to hear from you."

"It's me, Paul." She told him, constantly checking behind her to make sure that Chuck wasn't going to sneak up behind her.

"Steph? Are you alright?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing right now; I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't live this life anymore." She confessed her feeling to the only person she felt she had in her corner.

"Well, I think you should know that there are a couple of guys looking for you. I think you might know them." He told her with a smile.

A genuine smile lit up her face, "Seriously?"

"That's right. They've been here, came to find you, but you were gone. I've been trying to keep them up to date with what I know, but I don't know that much. I did find out that you were supposed to be in Connecticut and told them about that. They said that when they got there you were gone."

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah, Chuck carried me out doped up in the middle of the night."

Paul shook his head, something sounded awfully fishy about the whole thing. "Something's going on, I can feel it."

"I totally agree with you. Hey, do you happen to have a number where I can reach them by any chance?"

"I have a couple numbers for them. I will text them to you." Paul told her.

"Okay, thank you so much. And Paul, if I get out of this alive, I owe you." She told him, eternally grateful.

"You don't owe me anything, just be careful. I just want you to be safe." He told her, honestly.

She smiled, "I will do my absolute best. I'm done being passive, it's time for me to kick some ass. Oh, and Paul, if things ever calm down a little bit there's something that I want to talk to you about." She knew she needed to have the conversation with him, even though Chuck would be royally pissed and so would Tiffany for that matter.

They said their goodbyes and then she headed back to the car. She checked on Chuck and he was still out cold. She turned the phone's ringer to silent so that Chuck would not be awoken by the text message that Paul was going to be sending.

The text came quickly and she immediately imputed the numbers into the phone. She prayed silently to herself that her plan would work. Slipping again from the car, she walked quickly, on wobbly legs, to find privacy once again. She dialed the first of the two numbers and waited for one of them to pick up the phone.

Stephanie waited through three rings that felt like eternity. Her heart was palpitating and her knees were shaking; she thought she was going to pass out. After what felt like a million years she heard a voice on the other end, answering the phone. "Hey Sam, it's me."


	9. Chapter 8: Wanted Dead or Alive

**Chapter 8**

_Wanted Dead or Alive_

Sam and Dean didn't know where they were going. They had no leads, no trail, and no idea where the demons were headed next. They also had no clue where Stephanie and Chuck were fleeing to. All they had to go on was Dean's gut instinct and the things that they knew about the case. What they knew was that Stephanie believed that demons were after her, Stephanie and Chuck had fled from that motel in Connecticut in the middle of the night and that a couple hours later all the demons that had also been in that same motel had also let loose the victims that they had been riding. That was good enough for Dean; he believed as she did, that the demons were following her, tracking her. He just didn't know why they were doing these things.

Stephanie had denounced Lucifer back in Oswego. She had not allowed him to get what he had wanted from her. Most likely he was pissed off about what she had done to him, sending him back to hell in that way, and was more determined than ever to have her and make his plans come to life. He had chosen her for his sick and twisted plan and he would try anything to get what he wanted.

Dean wanted to kill himself. He wanted to stick the barrel of his favorite gun-the .45 caliber Colt 1911that he used all the time-into his mouth and pull the trigger. He had thought that she would be safer at home in New York, with her family and friends, living the normal "apple pie" life that he and Sam could never have. He had wanted this for her more than anything else in the world. For some foolish reason he had lied to himself and tried to believe that what happened with Lucifer was over; that she could be safe. The fact was that he had told himself that she would be safer without them, but that theory was starting to be proven completely false. If she was with them they could protect her. The demons would also be less likely to hunt her if Sam and Dean Winchester were there to protect her.

So, Dean had driven seven hours from Connecticut to West Virginia. He had also driven most of the way from South Dakota to New York and New York to Connecticut. To say he was tired was about the biggest understatement in the world. His eyes were bloodshot, the bags under his eyes had bags under them and he was almost foaming at the mouth kind of crazy. Sam couldn't take it anymore. Sam had tried for hours to get Dean to trade places with him and let him drive so that he could get some sleep, but Dean had always refused. There was no rest for the weary.

Sam had finally reached the end of his rope, though. He was about ready to kill his brother himself, saving Dean from having to do it. So, when Dean had least expected it, Sam had pulled his 9 mm Taurus gun on Dean and said, "Pull the damn car over or I'll shoot you, don't think I won't."

Dean had growled and glared at his brother. He didn't care if Sam shot him, in fact he'd be doing him a favor. "Go ahead, doesn't bother me."

Sam sighed, "You'll never see her again if I kill you. Besides, you're no good to her shot full of bullets."

Dean didn't really think his brother would shoot him, but with the crazy look in Sam's eyes he wasn't completely sure. "Fine!" Dean yelled, the noise causing a splitting headache in his forehead. Dean complied and pulled the car over so that he and Sam could switch places. Before Dean had laid his head back and taken some sleep he turned to look at his brother, green eyes wild and dangerous, "If I were you I'd sleep with my eyes open from now on, little brother."

Sam hadn't been too scared. He knew that the last thing in the world that Dean would do is kill him. He'd probably kill Stephanie before he would kill him; there was a strong possibility anyway, not that he would ever let that happen. So, Sam had settled into the driver's side, not bothering to touch Dean's beloved music, he didn't need him waking up and getting pissy at him about that too.

So, when Sam's phone had rung he was still driving and Dean was sleeping beside him in the passenger seat. "Hello?"

"Hey Sam, it's me."

When Sam heard the words and that voice, he thought he was losing his mind. "Stephanie?"

Dean began to stir, instinct waking him, hearing the name of the woman he loved being spoken. "Sam, give me the phone."

"No, Dean, stop." Sam turned his attention back to the telephone. "Steph, where are you?"

"I can't talk very long. I don't know when he's going to wake up and come looking for me. We're about an hour out of Columbus, which was our intended destination. I don't know how long he will sleep. I just don't know what to do." Her voice was weak, reeking with emotionality that tugged at Sam's heartstrings.

"Damn it, Sam! Give me the fucking phone!" Dean exclaimed, causing Stephanie to jump, even from miles away.

Sam sighed and handed his brother the phone. He knew he was fighting a losing battle.

Dean grabbed the phone and immediately put it to his ear, "Steph? Is that really you? Are you okay? He didn't drug you, did he? Where are you? Are you safe? It feels like we've been looking for you for years." Dean couldn't stop talking and asking questions; he was just so worried about her.

"Dean." Her voice was soft and sensitive, scared even. "I just—" Her words caught in her throat. She had been doing so much better talking to Sam. Talking to Dean brought back so many old feelings that she didn't know how to deal with. She found herself getting teary eyed and weepy.

"Shhh." He said soothingly, "Hey, it's okay. We're coming to you. Can you just hang tight where you are?"

"I don't know." She was genuinely scared and he could hear it in her voice, "He's probably going to wake up soon…"

"We will find you. We're in West Virginia, okay? Keep this phone handy so we can talk to you. Listen to me; if he wakes up and tries something just use some of the moves that you learned from us." Dean told her.

"He's a lot stronger than me and salt isn't going to help me on this one." She started panicking and Dean couldn't soothe her.

Sam looked at his brother defiantly, "Give me back the phone. Dean, I can do this; I'm less emotional about this."

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam, "You better not fuck this up." He handed Sam back the phone.

"Hey, it's me again. Just listen to me, okay? You're strong, Steph, you're very strong. Maybe you're not physically strong but come on, the things that you have done, you're strong on the inside. Just listen to your gut; do what you know you have to do. Trust me, we will find you; we're very good at what we do. Personally, I think you're safer with him than with a bunch of angry demons on your ass." Sam told her, trying to distance himself a little bit.

"Okay." She said, relaxing, "I will do what I have to. I need to see you; I can't let him ruin that."

"Good. Now, go do what you've got to do to stall him from waking. Everything will be alright." Sam said.

She nodded, "Okay, thank you, Sam. Tell Dean thank you for me too. I really feel like things are going to be okay this—" She was cut off by the sound of someone grabbing her from behind.

"I don't think so, Stephanie!" He said, a hand clamped over her mouth so that she couldn't scream.

"Stephanie!" Screamed Sam through the phone, "Steph, can you hear me?"

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked frantically, really concerned and pissed off at Sam for having taken the phone away from him.

Sam looked at his brother, eyes frantic, "Someone or something's got her. She just stopped talking suddenly."

Dean was so pissed that he was seeing red. He was ready to blow some people away. Sam was number one on his hit list at the moment, because he was there. "Sam, I'm driving!"

Sam nodded; he was too stunned to drive anyway. He was suddenly very glad that Dean had instincts that he could tap into on this one. He quickly traded places with Dean, fully content to let Dean do whatever he needed to do in order to find Stephanie.

Dean looked over at Sam, "I need you to do what you do best. Look up the GPS on the cell phone and keep tabs on it. You keep watch on the coordinates. There is no way in hell that I am going to let her get hurt. I'm going to do everything that I possibly can to keep her safe even if I have to die trying."


	10. Chapter 9: When Love & Hate Collide

**Chapter 9**

_When Love & Hate Collide_

Stephanie was dragged for about thirty feet and then she was suddenly picked up and hoisted over a shoulder. Things were hazy; she wasn't entirely sure what was happening to her. Had she been drugged? She felt like she was slipping in and out of consciousness. What was happening to her?

She could feel her body being set somewhere, in the sitting position. Why couldn't she see? She tried to reach her hands up to her eyes so that she could figure out why they weren't working but she couldn't; she couldn't move her arms. She was too groggy to figure out what was happening to her.

She tried to scream but couldn't find her voice. Her head felt so heavy, she had such a hard time trying to keep her head up. She soon discovered that it was a losing battle and just let her chin fall to her chest, giving in to the darkness that surrounded her.

The next time she awoke things were a bit clearer. She was in a room, half laying and half sitting on something comfortable. It felt padded and there was something soft behind her back. A pillow. It was clear that she must have been on a bed. When words came out of her throat they were scratchy and sounded foreign to her own ears, "Let me go, please!"

"I can't do that, Stephanie." He told her, his voice giving away no emotion.

She recognized the voice immediately; how could she not? "Chuck?"

He sighed, "Yes, Steph, it's me."

"Why….what?" She couldn't formulate compete sentences to ask the question that she needed the answers to.

He went to her and pulled the blindfold off her eyes. She drew in a harsh breath when the light hit her eyes, making her blink and squint until her eyes adjusted. "How long have I been—"

"It's been a few hours." He told her, looking at her, sadness on his face. "You should probably just sleep because it will take a few more hours before you're going to feel better."

"What did you—" She started to ask as she found herself dosing off again. Whatever he had given her had really knocked her out.

He moved toward her, gently running his hand along her cheek, in a caressing manner. "Please Steph, don't be mad at me. I thought you were going to leave me. I just couldn't let that happen." He had been desperate and had lost control of himself.

She didn't respond because she was basically a vegetable. She could hear him, vaguely, but she couldn't react. Her body was so tired, so extremely wiped out. One of her wrists had been bound to the bed, but he quickly reached over and untied the knot, realizing there wasn't really anywhere that she would be able to go in her condition. "I did everything for you, Steph. All I ever wanted was you, that's all."

Tears fell from Chuck's eyes as he watched his wife slipping in and out of consciousness because of something that he did to her. He always told himself that he could never hurt her, there was no way that he would be able to, but didn't this qualify as doing just that? Wasn't he hurting her now, keeping her against her will? He fought nausea at the thought of what he was doing; kidnapping his own wife. "It's pretty bad when you have to do that, you know. I shouldn't have to keep you with me by force; you should just want to be with me. Isn't that why we were married?"

A soft little sound slipped from her lips and he knew that she was trying to communicate with him, but she couldn't. He hated this, more than he hated anything in the whole world. He hadn't wanted or intended to do anything of this nature, but she was going to flee. She was going to put herself in danger. Worse than all of that, she was going to go back with….them. He couldn't stand the thought of that. No, he had to do everything he could to keep her away from the Winchester brothers. They were bad news and had done all of this to her in the first place. If she had never met them she wouldn't be freaked out and anxious all the time. If those assholes hadn't planted all those thoughts into her head then she wouldn't be the way she was. She would have been happy, healthy, ALIVE inside. "Baby, sweetie, I love you. I know it may not seem like it right now, but honestly…I love you." His voice caught in his throat and sobs wracked through his body. This was not at all what he envisioned for their lives. This was completely…insane. INSANE. The word that had been used against her so many times; maybe the word described him more than her. What the hell was he doing?

He had their cell phone numbers. He could call them and tell them where she was. He could do that, should do that, for her. He should let them come here and rescue her from him so that he couldn't do things like this to her ever again. No, they were the enemy; there was no way he could let them get to her. Not after everything he had learned about them. Thank God he had connections to keep him informed about all kinds of things out there. He slid his body over beside hers so that he could wrap his arm across her sleeping frame, holding her, protecting her from the things out there. Big, messy tears fell from his eyes as he held her close and fell asleep beside her.

Three hours later, Stephanie awoke with a huge headache. She felt groggy and disorientated; but she recognized her surroundings, she was in a motel room. Moving her head was painful but she was able to do it carefully, so that she could try to make some sense of what was going on around her. She vaguely remembered being blindfolded or tied up or something. She looked down at her wrists and there was bruising there, as if she had struggled with binds. What the hell had happened to her? There was also something heavy against her body. She moved a bit to the left side so that she could see what was there and she found Chuck, practically lying on top of her.

She gently poked at his arm, her body hurt to move, so she made slight movements. "Chuck?"

He stirred rather quickly. When his eyes opened they widened in shock at the recollection of what he had done to her. He groaned, "Stephanie, I'm so sorry."

"What the hell did you do to me?" She asked, trying to find some strength within herself to get truly mad at him and defend herself from him.

"It was just a couple of pills. I would never hurt you, Stephanie. I would never, ever hurt you." He told her, trying to hold her against him, feeling her resistance.

She tried to fight him off, but she was so weak. She pushed against him and he grabbed onto her more tightly. He couldn't run the risk of her trying to get away on him again, so he quickly retied her wrist to the bed, a bit more tightly than last time. She glared at him, fire in her eyes, "Can't you see how much you've already hurt me? Every day of my life you've been hurting me. I can't even trust you anymore!"

He looked at her sadly, "No, I never meant to hurt you. I would never do that on purpose. I was trying to protect you. Everything's been for you."

"No!" She spat, "Let me go, now!"

"Steph, please, I can't do that. You know I can't just let you go, it's not safe."

She wrinkled up her forehead, "I thought you didn't believe in the monsters out there? I thought you thought I was crazy?"

"No, I don't really believe in ghosts, demons, vampires and all those other mythological things, but I do believe in psychotic killers. I believe in real living people who have killed tons of innocent people and escaped every time."

She had no idea what he was talking about and then the realization hit her. "You think the Winchesters are going to kill me?"

"They're bad, Stephanie. I know all about the things they've done. They're crazy, psychotic and they're making you that way too. I just wanted to protect you, keep you safe. That's all I've ever wanted to do." He went on, but she drowned out everything he was saying.

"You can't keep me here against my will, it's called kidnapping. I have rights you know."

He shook his head, "You're unstable. You're paranoid, delusional, you're….the doctor said it himself. I have the reports. Nobody in their right mind is going to think it's safe for you to be on the streets. You could hurt yourself or someone else."

What? He was going to keep her prisoner with him for the rest of her life on the premise that she was emotionally unstable to be alone? "Maybe you should have some psych evaluations done on yourself! Maybe you'll learn some things that you don't want to learn." She found some strength and she kicked her legs out, trying to fight back, screaming, "Help! Help me!"

Out in the hallway, the Winchesters were scouring the place, trying to find her. The GPS in Chuck's phone had led them to this motel, but they didn't know what room it was. The receptionist had revealed herself to being a demon and they had killed her, running away quickly to search the rooms. "I told you we should have hijacked that computer." Sam told his brother.

"There wasn't time, now shut up!" Dean had little patience for anything at the moment. His only goal was to find her and keep her safe. Suddenly he heard something and stood up straighter, extending his arm out, stopping Sam, "Do you hear something?"

Sam listened more closely too. Then they heard it; someone screaming for help. "Yeah, it's coming from two rooms down." They ran two rooms to the right and backed up, "F.B.I., open up!"

They could hear muffled screams and Dean didn't wait any longer, he cocked his gun and kicked the door in, like it was a feather. Pure adrenaline was racing through Dean's body as he raced into that room, seeing Stephanie bound and gagged on the bed. "What a sick fuck!" Dean spat at Chuck.

"Dean, don't shoot if you don't need to!" Sam exclaimed. "We don't kill people."

"That's not what I heard." Chuck told them, in panic mode.

Dean didn't care what Chuck said; he had no interest in any of it. "That depends on whether he's even human." He pointed his gun right at Chuck's head and directed Sam to untie Stephanie.

Sam did as he was instructed and felt Stephanie's relief. "Thank you." She said weekly. Sam helped her to stand and then focused his attention back to Dean, who still had his gun aimed at Chuck. Sam started to move toward his brother but felt Stephanie's body giving away beside him. He quickly reached out to catch her before she could hit the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and turned his attention back to Dean. "Dean, please…"

Dean used his head to point at the door twice, "Get her out of here. I can take care of him."

Once Sam and Stephanie were out of earshot, Dean looked at the other man and a snarl formed on his lips. "I swear to God, Chuck, if you try to find her we will kill you!" he spat. "Don't think we're ever going to let you touch her again!" With that Dean backed out of the room, keeping his gun on Chuck the entire time.

When Dean made it out to the parking lot, he found Stephanie curled up in Sam's arms, sobbing her eyes out against his chest. Dean's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. He swallowed the lump in his throat, "Sam, how about you drive, okay?" He wanted to sit in the back with Stephanie and hold her. It had been such a long time; entirely way too long.

Sam nodded at his brother, knowing that Dean needed this. Sam helped Stephanie into the back seat, feeling her almost fight back against being let go of, and got into the front seat.

Dean slid into the back with her, immediately reaching out to her. She slid over and curled her body against his, needing him more in that moment than she had ever needed anyone. She began to cry deeply again as she felt him there for the first time in over a year. His body was warm, hard and safe. Never a safer place had ever existed for her than his arms in that moment.

Sadness, pain and joy ran through Sam's body as he caught a glimpse of the scene playing out in the rearview mirror. He hadn't seen his brother cry the entire time she was gone. Dean had been cold, distant and generally pissed at the world. In this moment Sam saw pure emotion on Dean's face; he could feel the love that he felt for this girl. So, as Sam witnessed that display before him, he found tears sliding down his own cheeks.

Stephanie was crying for so many reasons. She was crying because she was terrified by what had just happened to her mixed with the feeling of impending doom. She was also crying because she had gotten free of someone who had been bringing such strain and stress into her life. More than anything she was crying because she was looking into the faces of her two human saviors; the two people who understood more than anyone what she was going through. Seeing them again and being able to be close to them again gave her a feeling that she had not felt in a very long time; hope.


	11. Chapter 10: Stranglehold

**Chapter 10**

_Stranglehold_

Sam and Dead decided the safest and best place for Stephanie to be was at Bobby's. They drove straight through to South Dakota, only stopping once in a while for restrooms and food. Stephanie clung tight to one of the brothers wherever they went; she was not going to take the chance of getting separated from them. This was the safest she had felt in a year and she intended to never let that feeling go away.

When they stopped to switch drivers Sam had simply slipped into the backseat, beside Stephanie and pulled her against him. "How are you feeling?" He had asked her.

She looked up at him, "As good as a person could under these circumstances, I guess." That was vague, she knew, but she didn't know how to answer the question. The fact was that it had been such a long time since she had felt happy and safe that she couldn't really answer the question. "I'm a lot happier now that I'm back with you."

He smiled down at her, "We are too. We've both been extremely worried about you."

She nodded, "I want to know everything that you know, but not just yet. If I hear any more bad news right now I think my head will explode."

He gave her a sympathetic smile, "I understand. Why don't you just close your eyes and get some sleep?"

She shook her head, "When I sleep the nightmares get me."

Sam ran his hands over her hair, "It's alright though, they're just dreams. They can't hurt you. Besides, I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Thanks Sam." She told him, snuggling up close to him and allowing herself to be taken on to dreamland.

* * *

A couple hours later Stephanie awoke screaming. Sam was trying desperately to calm her down from her nightmare. The nightmares were always the same; demons….demons everywhere. Also Lucifer; he somehow always seemed to be there whispering things to her trying to trick her and force her hand so that he could get what he wanted from her.

"Shhh." Sam said.

Dean looked back at her with so much concern in his eyes that Stephanie actually felt bad for causing him pain. She couldn't help the fact that she had the nightmares but she hated that they had to hurt the people that she loved.

"I wish there was a place in this world that I could feel completely safe." She said, running her hand over her face.

Sam's arm was wrapped around her tightly, trying to calm her fears. "I think we know just the place."

* * *

Within the next couple of hours they arrived at Bobby's house. The boys helped Stephanie from the car, got her into the house and introduced her to Bobby. They couldn't believe that with all the time they had spent with the girl that she and Bobby had never met. That was kind of weird.

After the introductions and Bobby's hospitality, they took her the one place they felt could be a safe haven for her….the panic room. She smiled when she saw it, running her hands over the lead-lined walls. "Wow. This is incredible."

Bobby beamed brightly, "Glad you like it. I made it myself."

Dean rolled his eyes, "He's real modest about it too."

Sam laughed, "It's a very cool place, except when you're detoxing." Sam's tone had a bitter end to it, which tore into Dean with precision.

She made herself comfortable on the bed, covering herself up in the warm blankets that they had grabbed for her. She was content to make this be the happiest place on earth for her for that moment in time. "I like it here." She told them.

They all looked at each other, taking turns stepping out of the cell so that they could talk. Dean was the last one out. Before he left he went to her, kneeling down beside the bed. "Are you going to be alright in here, alone?"

She smiled up at him, he was so sweet. He was such a wonderful, caring man. She reached out to stroke his cheek, watching as his eyes closed instinctively. "I think so. Are we talking about hours?"

Dean shook his head, "No, just long enough for us to talk. I'll be back after that and I'll sit with you, okay?"

She sat up and looked at him, "Thank you for looking for me and thank you for finding me. Thank you for always being there for me, taking care of me."

He looked deeply into her eyes, "Sweetheart, I'll always be here for you. As long as I'm breathing you can count on me." He leaned his forehead against hers, unsure about whether to kiss her the way that he really wanted to. He didn't know what would be welcomed after everything that had happened.

He didn't have to ponder about it too long because she kissed him. She kissed him gently, quickly and softly. It was probably the most benign kiss the two had ever shared but it meant so much more to them than any of their other kisses had. "Promise that you'll be back?"

"Of course, I'm not going anywhere. Sam and I just need to discuss everything with Bobby and get him up to speed and then I'll be back. If you need me at all, for anything, I'll be right upstairs." He ran his hand soothingly over her hair, calming her.

She smiled at him softly, enjoying the specialness that she was feeling from his touch. Dean was just such a special guy to her and she wanted to keep him in her life this time. She just couldn't let him go so easily this time. As much as Dean meant to her there was someone else who meant a lot too. There was someone else that she needed to talk to; someone who was worried about her. "Can I use your cell phone? Is that alright?" She asked him.

He nodded, "Of course. Can I ask who you're going to call?"

She smiled, "Paul. I want to call him and let him know that I'm safe."

Dean smiled back, "I think that's a great idea." He handed her his phone and stood up to head upstairs with the other hunters. Before he left the room he bent his head down to kiss her head, showing her the affection that he felt inside for her.

As soon as Dean was gone she dialed the familiar number into his cell phone and waited. Paul picked up on the third ring. "Hey, what's up?" He asked into the phone.

She smiled, so glad to hear his voice, "It's me again."

She could practically hear him grinning from ear to ear, "Steph! Are you okay? I'm assuming that you're with the Winchesters."

"Yes, thank God! I'm okay now. Chuck caught me talking to them, trying to find a way to meet up and he…."

Paul felt his chest constricting. "What did he do? Did he hurt you?"

"He drugged me and tied me up." She told him emotionally.

Paul felt tears filling his eyes, "I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done something to prevent that."

"Paul, you helped me more than you'll ever know. Thank you for what you did. I love you." She told him. She didn't know what possessed her to say those words. She also didn't know how she meant them. She shrugged off the different meaning of the words, knowing full well that she loved him like he was family to her; to her he was family.

Paul's voice was soft and full of emotion, "I love you too."

* * *

Dean was upstairs pacing back and forth. Bobby looked at him and raised his eyebrow, "You're going to wear my floor out."

"Sorry." Dean answered back, aggressively.

Bobby folded his arms across his chest, "I think we need to know everything that she knows. We need to know where she's been, what she's been dreaming about and everything that has happened to her since she last left you boys. It's important that we are able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and come up with something that makes sense." He handed each brother a beer. "So, you said you found her tied up and drugged, right? And the husband did this?"

Dean groaned, how many times was he going to be forced to see this over and over in his head? "Yes! He was holding her prisoner against her will."

Sam put up his hand, "I know as well as you do that what he did was wrong, but what if it's not as simple as black and white on this one? I mean, he certainly wasn't acting much like the guy we met a year ago."

"Are you sure he's human?" Bobby asked.

Dean shook his head, "We were a bit focused on saving her life than splashing him with holy water. Come on Bobby."

Bobby took a step closer to Dean and grabbed ahold of his arms, pulling Dean into his face, "You come on, boy! Just because you're in love with the girl doesn't mean you get sloppy. In case you haven't noticed we're fighting some evil sons of bitches and we can't just run in halfcocked, pull the girl out and run for the hills."

"We didn't run for the hills. But, you saw her, Bobby. She wasn't exactly in any condition to sit there tied up and afraid while we took an hour to figure out what kind of monster he was."

Bobby let Dean go, "So, you think he's a monster then?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't know what he is, but anyone who could do that to their wife; the woman that they're supposed to love…that's a monster in my book, human or not."

"Maybe it's not that simple, Dean." Sam said, chiming in. "Maybe there's more here than we know. I agree with Bobby, we need to know what she knows before we attempt to sort this whole mess out.

Dean sighed, "So, what do you suggest we do? Do you want to go down there and bombard her with questions, forcing her to drudge through horrible memories? Is that what you want?"

Bobby looked at Dean like he had grown three heads, "I think that's the only game in town at the moment. You used to think like a hunter Dean, but you're all emotional about this."

"I'll do it." Sam said. "I'll go down there and talk to her, calmly and rationally."

"No!" Dean exclaimed, "If anyone's going to do that, it's going to be me."

Bobby stepped in, "I agree with Sam. You're too close to this one, it's personal for you. Of course it's personal to Sam too, but I think he's going to be able to take a step back and be a bit more rational and level-headed about this. The last thing that girl needs right now is having someone getting angry and flying off the handle at everything she says."

"I'm not going to do that. I don't exactly want to scare the crap out of her you know." Dean argued.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Dean, I've had to live with you this whole time and you're a mess. You're way too on edge to do this. What if she has to tell you horrible things that you can't bear to hear? She can't afford to have someone being overly emotional about things right now. Trust me, I can do this. I will be tactful and gentle while getting the information that we need."

Dean grumbled but agreed. What choice did he really have? He knew that he was being ganged up on. Maybe they were right though, maybe he was too emotionally involved to go at this rationally. Maybe he would end up just getting mad and scaring her. That was so far from his objective that it was possible he could be a hindrance to the investigation. "Fine, but when you're done talking to her, I would like to see her."

Sam nodded, "Not a problem." He gave Dean a reassuring smile, trying to show him that he was still in his corner, on his team. He was just as passionate about protecting Stephanie and doing what needed to be done to solve all the mysteries, but he knew how to take a step back and go at this as a hunter would. He could do this; he would get the information that they needed and help everyone out so they could catch the bad guys and finally help Stephanie to feel safe again. He had to do this; he had to do it for her. He owed her this much, especially after everything he had almost allowed Lucifer to do to her in his own body.


	12. Chapter 11: Hold On

**Chapter 11**

_Hold On_

Sam entered the panic room, carrying a tray of food and drink for Stephanie. When she saw him she sat up on the cot and made room for him to sit beside her. "Hey," Sam said to her, "I brought you some food; pancakes just the way you like them."

She smiled at him and took the food from him, checking it out. "Chocolate chip; my favorite."

He returned the smile and nodded at her, "Yup. I remembered how you used to order them from every diner we went to."

"Except for the places that didn't have them." She laughed, "Remember how pissed I used to get when they told me that they only made plain pancakes?"

Sam laughed with her, "How could I ever forget? I think you almost attacked one waitress with your fork."

She smiled and looked down at her hands, "I wish that was all I had to worry about now. It's funny how quickly things can change."

Sam frowned, cutting to the chase, "Steph, the three of us decided that we really need to know everything that's happened in the last year. We need to know exactly what we're up against so we can piece it all together."

She nodded, "I wondered how long it would take you guys to ask about it." She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, "I just really don't want to talk about it."

Sam nodded, "I completely understand, but unfortunately I really have to insist. This is pretty much like an investigation right now. The only difference between this and the regular ones we have with people is that we know you and we don't have to question you in cheap suits with fake badges, under fake identities."

"I understand. I'm sorry that you have to do this, Sam. I will try to be as cooperative as I can be. How'd you get to be the lucky one for the job?" She asked.

"I volunteered. We, well Bobby and I anyway, agreed that I was the best one to do it. Dean's too emotionally involved to be rational about it." Sam smiled at her sympathetically, "But I will try my absolute best to make this as pleasant as I can for you."

"I know you will, Sam, there's no doubt in my mind. I bet he wasn't too happy with you, though."

Sam smiled, "Not exactly. I think he wanted to rip my face off, actually."

She nodded, "He'll get over it." She looked right into his eyes, "What do you want to know?"

"Anything and everything. I need to know anything that you think might be an important detail." He looked back at her, gently, "For starters, what was it like when you first got back home?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at him, "Things were good at first; really good. I mean, I was sad, of course. He knew that I missed you guys, but he was extremely understanding about that. I quickly reacquainted myself to the apartment and our friends. I made a few changes, like I went out and got a tattoo to match yours and Deans. And I also purchased a few weapons so that I could feel safe just in case something ever happened. Chuck didn't really say anything about these things at all."

"So he knew about the weapons? I'm assuming they're the ones we found in the drawer beside the bed?" Sam asked.

Stephanie nodded, "Yes and yes. I didn't want to keep secrets from him like I used to; I wanted him to know that I respected him and wanted to do my part to fix our marriage." Her eyebrow rose, "You and Dean went through my things?"

Sam nodded, "We searched the place for evidence. Sorry about that, but we had to know if there were any clues about anything."

"That's alright. Did you find anything important?" She wondered.

"We found a hell of a lot of sleeping medications. We were assuming that they were yours."

She nodded her head in agreement, "That's right, they are mine. I bought those things at first to try to sleep better and try to keep the nightmares at bay." She frowned, "Unfortunately they didn't work too well."

"So, you said that things went well between you and Chuck at first? How long did that last?" Sam wondered.

"A few weeks to a month or so."

"What happened then?" Sam knew this was painful for her but he had to ask the tough questions.

"He finally confronted me about the nightmares. We had a long talk about everything that happened while I was gone; I opened up about everything. I told him about being possessed, meeting you two and everything that happened between me and the two of you romantically. I also told him about almost getting turned into a vampire, seeing you drinking blood, the whole Lucifer/Michael thing and I told him about what I can do. I told him everything."

Sam let out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he was holding in. "I see."

She reached out to place her hand on his arm, "I had to tell him everything; he's my husband. I needed him to know that I wasn't keeping secrets from him anymore. I wanted him to know that I was committed to our marriage in a way I hadn't been before."

Sam couldn't help himself; he had to pry, "What happened to you two before you were possessed? I'm sorry, I'm just curious."

She sighed deeply, pained about having to talk about this. "We were best friends. We grew up together, did everything together; we even took baths together when we were just little, little kids. Our families were very close and he lived next door to me growing up. There was nothing that we wouldn't do for each other. He was everything to me and we both knew it would always be that way. We were content to just be best friends, almost brother and sister, for a long time. Things got more confusing for us when we began to find that we were sexually attracted to each other. We were together all the time so it's only logical that we would explore our sexuality together. It was even worse after the rape because I stopped trying to protect my virtue and I just gave it up to him easily. Anyway, so we started having sex and it was awesome. We were so perfectly matched in the bedroom; it was probably because we knew each other inside and out. I'm pretty much convinced that we knew each other better than we knew ourselves. Anyway, I got to a point in my life when I got a lot of my faith back, which I had left behind after the rape, and I decided that I no longer wanted to have sex outside of marriage. I made a promise to God that I wouldn't do it anymore. It was very difficult on both of us, so I think the decision to get married was pretty much inevitable. It was basically break up and stay away from each other or get married and try to make things right. We thought we were doing the right thing, but we were way too young. We were only 21 when we got married; the legal age should be like 25 to be married in this country. We were just way too young to understand that getting married because it seems like the thing to do or because you're horny for each other is completely bogus. There are so many good reasons to get married, but those are not two of them."

Sam nodded, "I understand. So, after you were married, what went wrong?"

"It was like the sex was no longer interesting or something. Neither one of us wanted it anymore. We got bored with each other I guess. When sex wasn't in the picture then we didn't have much relationship to work with. I mean, of course we had the friendship, but it had changed dramatically after developing a sexual relationship and getting married. We could no longer be those free, fun-loving kids who just wanted to spend every day together; there were so many responsibilities and outside influences that put pressure on us." She hated talking about this, but somehow it was easier to open up to him than she anticipated. Sam was a really great listener and had such a compassionate ear that she found herself unloading on him.

He gave her the dewy eyed thing that she loved so much and continued to pry, "So, is that when things with Paul happened?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Paul was having intense problems with Tiffany. We used to hang out a lot during the days and one thing just led to another. It started out as just a kiss but it quickly got out of hand." She frowned, "I know it all makes me sound like a horrible person, but it was different with Paul, you know? It wasn't all primal and crazy, it was sweet. He was sensitive to my needs, always putting me ahead of himself; he made love to me instead of just…fucking me." She was awkward talking about sex with Sam after everything that had happened and she found a blush rising in her cheeks.

He too found the conversation a bit uncomfortable. He was trying to concentrate on knowing her life well enough to figure out what was going on, rather than focusing on how much he really wanted to touch her. Getting himself turned on was not going to help the investigation. He cleared his throat and adjusted himself a little bit, "Okay, go on."

She nodded, "I knew it was wrong to hurt Tiffany and Chuck that way, but it wasn't premeditated; he just made me feel things that Chuck hadn't been able to. I guess it was the same for Paul with Tiffany."

"What were their problems about? Do you know?"

"Well, Tiffany wanted nothing more than to have a child. That was her sole motivator in getting married. She saw Paul as a great genetic match for her and someone who could give her exceptional children. Well, that plan didn't work out so well for her at first. They tried for a long time and for some reason it just never seemed to work. She went to every doctor in the whole world and they all said the same thing; they could see no reason why she couldn't get pregnant. Because of that she got it stuck in her head that it was his fault; that he was somehow infertile. She made his life a living hell; mocking him, belittling him and treating him like a child. I overheard some of their conversations and they basically consisted of the kinds of conversations that a scolding mother would have with her naughty child. So, I can't say as though I felt as bad for her as I probably should have. Especially considering how she was always making him feel like crap every day of his life for something that wasn't even his fault."

"They recently had a child, didn't they?" Sam asked.

"That's right. She was born about a month before I went back home."

"Clearly it wasn't his fault that they couldn't seem to get pregnant; something must have just not been going right." Sam said, feeling bad for the poor guy about the way he had been treated.

She smiled, "Right. She no longer can blame him for that. She can blame him for other things, but not for that. But, I knew long before she did that it wasn't his fault at all."

"How in the world would you know that?"

A pained expression formed on her face, "I have a secret, Sam; a secret that nobody knows about."

Sam's curiosity was peaked. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Would you tell me if I promised to keep it between us?"

"Can you promise a thing like that?"

Sam shrugged, "As long as it turns out to have nothing to do with what's going on here."

She nodded, "Okay." She sighed, pausing to compose herself before sharing this huge news, "That baby that I lost…"

Sam's eyes practically shot out of their sockets. "It was his wasn't it?"

She looked at him sadly and nodded her head, "Yes, the baby was Paul's."


	13. Chapter 12: Open Arms

**Chapter 12**

_Open Arms_

Dean walked down to Bobby's basement and knocked on the outside wall of the panic room, announcing his presence to Stephanie. She looked up when she heard him and smiled. She set her plate of pancakes to the side and moved over so that he could sit beside her.

Dean got to her quickly, not wanting to waste any time. He sat down beside her and looked at her, "Don't stop eating on my account."

She shook her head, "I've had all I want anyway."

He smiled, "Were they horrible?" He had to laugh; the thought of Sam cooking was just too funny for him to comprehend. There was just no way that the dude was any good at it.

She shook her head, "They weren't half bad actually. I just don't eat that much anymore."

Dean frowned, "Is it the medicine?"

She shrugged, "I'm sure it doesn't help. I think that my problem mostly is nerves and anxiety though. My stomach always gets upset under those conditions."

He looked down at his hands and then back up to her face. His eyes betrayed intense pain, "I'm so sorry."

She looked at him confused, "For what? You and Sam have done nothing but help me and save my life, what could you possibly have to be sorry for?"

"I really thought that you would be safer without me. Happier too, really." It pained him to admit the last part of his statement.

She shook her head, "Never happier without you." She reached out and touched his arm, "There wasn't one day that went by that I didn't think about you."

"Same here." He said, gruffly. He didn't want her to know just how hard it had all been on him; he prided himself on being strong.

She looked at him seriously, "Dean, I know there is something that you and Sam aren't sharing with me. I didn't want to know before because of everything that had happened, but now I want to know. I don't want to sit here with my thumb up my ass not doing anything to figure out what's going on."

He couldn't help but notice how much his vernacular had seeped into hers; it was uncanny. He sighed and took a deep breath before continuing, "Sam and I were hunting a crap load of demons. The last one, who apparently was the brains of the operation, told us something very interesting."

She raised her eyebrow at him, "About me?"

He nodded, "Yes. You see, apparently, because you're special there is different protocol for possession in your case. The demons can't just overpower you and possess you; you actually have to be surrendered to the demon."

"What?"

"It's like a deal. Someone had to make a deal in order for you to be allowed to be possessed." He hated having to tell her about this.

"Who? Who would do something like that?" She couldn't help it, she felt betrayed.

He looked down at his hands, "It had to a loved one."

"Like family?"

"Family or someone almost as close as family we are assuming. The demon wasn't exactly forthcoming with everything." He told her.

She scratched her head, "But, how do you even know this demon was telling you the truth? Don't they lie all the time?"

He nodded, "They do, but for some reason we just really believe this one."

She stared at her hands, "Who could have done this?"

"We don't know for sure. I would think it would be someone with a motive. The demon must have promised this person something they couldn't pass up. So, let's think about who might have had something to gain."

"What would be considered a motive?" She wanted to know.

He shrugged, "Well, jealousy seems to lead most people to make deals. Someone wants something that they can't have and they make a deal for it." Dean looked at her soberly, "We have to mention Chuck. I know he's not like sitting pretty here or anything but he's your husband and you two were having problems. Maybe there was something that he wanted that he was willing to make the deal for. Generally deals do tend to come back to bite you in the ass." He thought about how he had, selflessly, made the deal so that Sam would live, just to find out later that his venture to hell had become the first seal of the apocalypse.

She nodded. She didn't want it to be Chuck. After everything that he had done to her she still wanted to believe that he loved her. "Who else do you think?"

"Well, you can't count out the jealous lover on the side. Maybe he wanted you for himself. Hell, he'd have to be an idiot not to."

She blushed. "Well, I guess I can see the motivator there, but if he did that then he's gotta feel like a moron." Nothing had worked out in Paul's favor.

Dean shrugged, "You just never know really."

She scrunched up her forehead, thinking, "I don't think we can count Tiffany out either. I mean, she's the wife of the lover on the side." She cringed, hated calling Paul that, he was so much more than those words indicated. "She's also the granddaughter of a hunter and knows a few things about these kinds of things."

Dean nodded, "You're absolutely right. I think we can't ignore her at all, in fact in my opinion she moves to the top of the list; prime suspect number one."

Stephanie got angry, "You know, whoever did this….I'll kill them. Who could do something like this to someone that they're supposed to love? When we figure this out, which we will, I'm going to tear the person to shreds. Who the fuck do they think they are?"

Dean raised his eyebrows, "I've never seen you this angry before. I have to say…it's actually kinda hot!"

She smiled, despite herself, "Dean Winchester, you kinky bastard!"

He shrugged, "Not the first time I've heard that." He sobered, "Besides, it's not that crazy; you found Sam all insanely hot when he was on the demon blood and had the dangerous vibe. I could tell by the way you looked at him."

She blushed crimson, "I can't deny that I did find that quite sexy. I can't help it."

"So is it so crazy for me to find you hot as hell when you're fuming mad? I think I just kind of want to capture that passion and redirect it." He gave her one of his dazzling smiles that always melted her into a pile of goo on the floor.

She felt heat rising through her body and settling between her thighs. The blood rushed to her cheeks, betraying her interest. "I have a secret." She found her body moving closer to his instinctually.

He raised his eyebrow, his curiosity peaked, "Oh yeah?"

She smiled, nervously, her eyes focusing on the wall near his head rather than on his face, "I haven't been touched since the last time we were together."

Utter shock filled his body; his eyebrows rose, his mouth hung open and his eyes practically popped from their sockets. He was sure that he had misheard what she had just said. There was just no way that was possible, not even in the slightest. He swallowed hard, his throat impossibly dry, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

She smiled, delighted by the look on his face, "You heard me right. It's the truth."

He pulled her body against his, "It's been over a year. How is that possible?"

"I'm not in love with Chuck anymore. We stopped doing it for each other soon after we were married." She found herself being more open and honest with Dean than she had ever intended to be. She snuggled closer so that she could use her nose and cheek to nuzzle against his face, "I've really missed you, Dean."

'Holy Shit!' Dean didn't think he could stand this kind of blissful torture. How in the world was he supposed to keep his cool with her acting like this and telling him these insane secrets? "What about Paul?" The question hung in the air for a few moments and he wished immediately that he'd never let it slip from his lips.

She let out the air that she had been holding. The truth was that she didn't know how to answer the question. She hadn't been with Paul since before she was possessed and had no idea what was even still between them, if anything. She shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't want to talk about him right now."

He could live with that. Before he even knew what he was doing, he pulled her body into his lap, her legs wrapping around his hips. With one hand on her back, holding her against him, he used his free hand to trace the line of her face and tuck her hair behind her ear. "Should I shut the door?" He didn't want anything to interrupt this moment, but he also didn't want Bobby or his geeky little brother to come waltzing in. He didn't know what was going to happen between them but whatever it was he knew they were going to want some privacy.

She looked into his eyes and nodded. She didn't know what was going to happen either. The fact of the matter was that she knew it was wrong; she was married after all. She had created so many problems in her life by cheating. For a split second she wanted to change her mind, get off him and take a cold shower or something. As quickly as the idea to flee had come into her mind, it was gone. Sitting there in his lap, looking into those deep green eyes, she knew there was nothing she could do; she was totally powerless. The fact was that she wanted him more than she could express. "Yes, shut the door."

He smiled at her, slid his hand under her butt and stood up, carrying her with him over to the door. The door required two arms to operate so he set her down for the longest twenty seconds of his life. He picked her back up immediately and she wrapped her legs around his waist once again. He moved them back over to the cot, bringing her back down on top of him.

He looked at her. She was so soft and vulnerable. She had lost at least twenty pounds and was about as light as a feather. He couldn't help it, his protective nature was heightened. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." He promised as he leaned forward to kiss the very sensitive skin beneath her ear.

She trembled against him, soft moans escaping her throat. She rested her forehead against his shoulder, taking in his smell. He smelled so safe; like home. "You're sure that nothing can get us in here?" Her voice was soft and fearful.

His arms tightened around her, protectively. "I won't let anyone ever hurt you again. Do you trust me?"

She nodded, "Of course."

He smiled, "Good, then everything is just fine. You don't need to be afraid right now." He knew it was going to take a while for her fears to subside. He had all the time in the world for her; he would give her whatever she needed. His mouth found hers then, softly and gently. Their lips were pliable against each other's as they lightly explored each other. Slowly the kiss grew in intensity. His hands moved to wrap into her hair, pulling her face closer to his. Their tongues caressed each other's, dancing a romantic waltz to the music inside themselves. It was passionate, it was romantic and it was completely intense. They both felt as though fireworks were actually being shot off above their heads. Their bodies had no trouble remembering each other; it was as if they had been together the entire time, only better.

He took a world of time touching her, caressing her and remembering her. He wanted to learn every new change in her body as she did. She found every new scar and kissed it as though her mouth possessed the power to heal. To him it was possible that it could; he hadn't felt this good in as long as he could remember.

After reintroducing themselves to each other's bodies they found it easy to allow their passions to take control of their movements. Slowly and gently he slid into her, filling a void she had felt for the year that they were apart. Only he could touch her this way, make her feel what he was feeling through his soft touch. They held each other tight and reached the pinnacle of pleasure together, feeling completely safe to be themselves in each other's arms. It was as if time stood still when they were together. They were a perfect match for each other. They had been apart for too long and now they needed to do whatever it took to prevent that from ever happening again.

* * *

A/N: I wanted so badly to hold off on this chapter a little bit longer, but I couldn't help myself. I just had to post this immediately because it really spoke to me. I'd love it if you would read and review this chapter to let me know what you think of it! It pretty much just wrote itself and I was forced to do it's bidding. I don't think I've ever written a love scene in this way before, it was a unique experience to me and I would like to know if I pulled it off or not!

I genuinely appreciate those of you who have been reading and reviewing; I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me. I think things are going to get a little bit more like Supernatural Amnesia soon. I'm about half-way through the story so I guess it's a lot like Season 6 of the show...took half the thing to get things back to where they needed to be.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am going to be at my fiance's until Monday so I will be unable to update for a few days. Hopefully posting 3 chapters in 2 days will make up for that :) I hope you all have a very happy Valentine's Day! I think this is a good leading chapter to the most romantic day of the year...

Thanks again!

Sara


	14. Chapter 13: To Be Alive

**Chapter 13**

_To Be Alive_

Stephanie was gone. Those were the three worst words in the English language for Chuck. He had fought so hard to keep those words from becoming his reality once again, but somehow it had still happened. He had always known that someday, someway, she would be ripped from him again. Getting her back had felt way too good to be true.

Chuck didn't know what else to do; there was nowhere else he could go. Losing Stephanie was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him; the thing that made him live his life in complete fear. It was what he had worked so hard to prevent; moving them from place to place, trying so hard to keep the Winchesters from finding her. Sure, they had given her back to him, but at what cost? He didn't know how long they would be able to be without her, after everything that she had done with them. After everything that Tiffany had told him about them, there was no way they could just let her exist out there in the world, knowing their secrets; knowing all the horrible, evil things that they had done.

So, he found himself going back there; home. It was the only place in the world that he felt alive. This was the last place where he and Stephanie had been happy. He had to admit to himself that the happiness had been very short lived and was quite a while ago, but he could still draw back onto those memories when he was within the walls of that apartment complex. He could still remember the day when she came back to him; he thought about it every day of his life. He remembered how sad she had been at first, after saying goodbye to _them, _but she had quickly warmed up to him, taking the entire rest of the day and the whole night to reminisce the good times with him. Sure, she had been different; tortured and tormented, but she had been his! Oh, how he longed to have that back again.

With shame, fear and complete desperation, he walked over to the Richardson's door and knocked. Tiffany opened the door, surprise evident on her face.

"Chuck! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"She's gone. The Wichesters have her." He told his friend, barely able to meet her eyes. He knew this whole thing had been his fault, all of it.

She sighed, "How could you let that happen?"

He dropped onto their sofa, barely able to hold his head up. "She snuck around behind my back and contacted them. I don't understand, she never did anything like that the entire time she was back." Chuck was visibly upset.

Tiffany got a good look at him. He looked like he'd been through the war; his eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders were slumped and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. She shook her head, "I warned you about those guys. It was only a matter of time before they found her and ruined everything that you worked so hard for."

Chuck hung his head, "I just don't know what to do now."

"You need to get her back, that's what you need to do now."

He shook his head, "She'll never willingly go back with me now, not after everything that's happened."

Tiffany shrugged, "Then you know what you have to do."

He shook his head, "I can't do that, I just can't."

She raised her eyebrow at him. There was just no way around it, Chuck was going to be forced to give in and do what needed to be done. He would do it, eventually, she knew he would.

* * *

Dean opened his eyes and stretched his arms out. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was and who it was that was beside him. He smiled when he spotted her sleeping frame. She looked so peaceful and absolutely beautiful beside him. "Hey beautiful." Dean said, running his hands over Stephanie's long brown hair, holding her close against his chest.

She smiled up at him, "Hey sexy." She tilted her head up to press her lips to his.

They had taken a little snooze after they made love with each other. They had both been exhausted from everything going on in their lives and found it very easy to doze off into dreamland. For the first time in the last year Stephanie had been able to sleep peacefully without the aid of drugs.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her, his hand lightly caressing down the side of her body.

She smiled at him, "That was the most restful sleep I've had in a very long time. I'm doing much better now that I'm back with you."

He bent down and kissed her again, passionately. He allowed his tongue to slip into her mouth, twirling around with hers, feeling her body reacting to his. He smiled, "Well, I gotta say, I'm not doing too badly right now myself."

She laughed and slid her body even closer to him, which seemed as though it would be a difficult feet on that twin sized cot. She ran her hand over his hard chest, feeling every muscle beneath his hand. "I forgot how built you were. I don't know how I could have forgotten a thing like that."

He smiled, "I didn't forget your build at all." He lightly reached out and took one of her breasts into his hand. He lightly pulled on the nipple, making it harden in his fingers.

She giggled and wrapped her leg over his hip, "So, what would you say if I asked you to touch me?"

He reached his hand out to slide between her open thighs and his member, "I'd say just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. You know you can have anything that you want."

She smiled, "Lucky me." She rested her head against his shoulder as she relished in the feel of his fingers against the sensitive skin of her vaginal lips and clitoris. She moaned lightly into his ear, making him smile.

He pulled her body closer to his; his growing erection rubbing up against her clitoris. He ran his hands down her naked back, feeling the soft skin against his hand. "How is it possible that he could have kept his hands off you? There is absolutely no way that I would be able to."

She sighed, "I don't know, Dean, honestly I don't. We pretty much lost interest in each other. It's even possible that he had been sleeping around with Tiffany or something. I'm not even sure. I mean we were gone so much that I don't think they could have had much going during the last year, but maybe before that; maybe while I was gone."

"Don't you think Paul would know that though?" Dean asked, "and wasn't she pregnant during that time anyway?'

Stephanie nodded, "She was, but you just never know. Also, I don't know what Paul knows. Apparently he's been kept in the dark about a lot of things." She nuzzled her face into his neck, pressing her lips there, below his ear, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

He smiled, pulling her body on top of his, "What do you want to do then?"

She moved her hips against him, feeling his hardening member rubbing deliciously against the opening of her pussy. "I can think of a few things." She said as she lowered herself onto him, his hard cock sliding up inside of her. She let out a breathy moan once he was inside of her, "Yes."

He pulled her head down and kissed her hard and passionate, "Is that what you wanted baby?"

She ground her hips against him, as he was balls deep inside of her, "Yes! Don't stop, it feels so good!"

He grabbed onto her hip and held on as he began to take control from her. He pounded into her fast and hard, earning excited screams from her throat. "You are so tight."

"It had been so long; so fucking long." She worked desperately to get the control back from him. She wanted nothing more in that moment to ride him hard and fast, feeling her wetness rubbing all over the hot, hard skin of his throbbing cock.

He was practically delirious. His cock was twitching and almost burning. Jolts of pleasure shot through him like electricity. His fingers wrapped into her hair as he reached his head out to capture her nipple in his mouth, sucking and teasing the hardening nub with his teeth and tongue.

There was nothing either one could do; they were both powerless to the sensations running through their bodies. They wanted each other, more like they NEEDED each other, in a way that neither of them had experienced before. Their bodies worked together to heal and to possess. The passion of the moment and the heat of their touches helped heal their broken spirits; letting each other know that things were going to be alright, no matter what happened. All thoughts surrounded the need for each other; everything they needed to heal and fix all the bad that had happened to them was there, in each other's eyes. They wanted each other, they needed each other; they completed each other, but most of all they LOVED each other. They loved each other selflessly, in a way that neither of them had ever loved before.

When they reached that moment of total ecstasy, they reached it together. Their bodies convulsed and twitched together. They clung to each other as they rode out their orgasms together; feeling the release within each other that they needed to put everything in the past and move on with their lives.

They held closely to each other as they came down from their highs. Their hearts were bounding rapidly and they were both sweating profusely; this was the most amazing feeling in the entire world. Neither of them had been this content in as long as they could remember. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

His hands gently caressed her back, relaxing her. "Did you mean what you said that night we said goodbye?" It was against his better judgment to bring this up, but he couldn't help himself.

She looked up into his eyes, "Do you mean when I said that I loved you?"

He nodded.

She smiled, "Of course, Dean. I loved you then and I love you now."

He let out the breath that he didn't realize he was holding. He didn't know if he could handle the way his heart was feeling; he had never felt this before in his entire life. With terror filling his body, he twirled her hair around his finger and proceeded to open up about his feelings. "Stephanie, I need to tell you something. I am completely, head-over-heels in love with you. I've never felt this way before and I—I."

She stopped him then, placing her finger over his mouth, "It's okay. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you."

He nodded, "There's only ever been one woman that I've said the infamous three words to. I've spent my life trying to find someone to replace her in my life."

She nodded, "That makes sense. You saw her as the ideal." She looked at him soberly, "The truth is though that you'll never be able to replace her. Nobody will ever live up to the expectations; no one will ever be your mom."

He frowned, "It was wrong of me to compare every woman to her."

Stephanie lightly traced the line of his face, "It was only natural. You are a momma's boy and that's one of the things I love the most about you." She kissed lightly along his jaw line, "I'm just so thankful that you love me, I feel like I must have done something right in a past life or something." She didn't believe in past lives but it just seemed an appropriate thing to say. To deserve the love and devotion of Dean Winchester meant that she was the luckiest woman in the world. "I am just so lucky."

"I'm not doing so badly myself." He smiled, "But, enough with the chick flick moments, I think I've reached my quota for a while."

She laughed. Dean was the softest, gentlest man she had ever known but that hard shell kept him from opening up very much. So many defense mechanisms were carefully and strategically placed within himself so that he couldn't get hurt. She would just have to do everything she could to show him that he wouldn't have to be hurt again. She hoped she could do that for him, rather than contribute to further heartbreaks. She couldn't even bear to think of the possibility of that.

The truth was though that neither one of them knew where life would lead them. They did not know if they would be able to be together or if life would find a way of pulling them apart as it had last time. Whether they knew or not, it did not matter; they were together in this moment and that would have to be enough to last a lifetime.


	15. Chapter 14: Movin' On

**Chapter 14**

_Movin' On_

Dean couldn't be happier. These moments with Stephanie were all that he could ever ask for. There was such peace and serenity in these moments with her. He wished they could stay like that forever, never leaving the safety of the panic room.

They got up and put their clothes back on. Stephanie was feeling gross in her dirty clothes. She realized that she was once again living on the run with no possessions whatsoever. She looked at Dean, "I need a shower."

He smiled, "Me too. Maybe we should worry about conserving water…" His voice trailed on but she was too busy smiling and imagining what it would be like to concentrate on the words coming from his lips.

She laughed, "Not sure Bobby would be a huge fan of that."

Dean shrugged, "Probably not." He pulled her close for a hug, "I wish we could just stay down here forever."

Just as the words were out of his mouth there was a knock on the outside wall of the panic room. Dean groaned but let Stephanie go so that he could go to the door and open it. Once he got the door open he revealed Sam standing there with a sympathetic smile on his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure this is a bad time, but Bobby wants us upstairs." Sam told them. He did genuinely wish he didn't have to break up their party. He wanted nothing more than to see his brother happy. After all the time that Dean had spent worried and upset, not to mention taking out his frustrations on him, he really needed this time with the woman he loved.

Dean sighed, "We were thinking about heading up there for some food anyway." Dean told his brother, frustrated to think that Bobby might have some bad news to share with them. Dean wanted nothing but good news in these moments. Things just seemed so much better when he was with Stephanie and he hated the thought of someone ruining that for him.

"And a shower." Stephanie added. "Oh, and do either of you happen to have something clean that I can wear?"

Sam smiled at her, "I'm sure we can find you something."

"It's kind of like when I first was with you guys and had nothing. Maybe we can go shopping together again; I do love to shop!" She smiled at the boys, knowing full well how much they disliked the idea.

Dean turned to his brother, "Sammy, that's your department."

"Fine. I don't enjoy shopping, but I do enjoy spending time with Stephanie. So, since you're such a baby about this then I'll step up and take one for the team." Sam told his brother, excited at the thought of getting to spend some time with her.

Dean rolled his eyes, "We're talking about going shopping, not playing hide the sausage with her." His brother knew just how to get under his skin when he wanted to. Sam could be such a bitch. "Bitch." Dean said, calling it like he saw it.

"Jerk!" Sam responded. In a weird sort of way Sam was actually happy about the subject of the conversation. It wasn't that he enjoyed the name-calling, but more the fact that he liked knowing that Dean was in a better mood. Sam felt like it had been forever that the two had been off doing their thing, with Stephanie out there somewhere, and Dean being a major thorn in his side. It was just nice to know that they could get back to their usual banter.

Stephanie smiled, "You two are seriously like an old married couple."

Dean shrugged, "Sometimes it feels like it too." It was true. Dean knew that he would, and had on many occasions, take a bullet for his brother. It was also true that Sam and Dean spent every waking moment of every day with each other, so it was almost a fair assessment; it was almost like they were married. Dean wasn't even a touch gay, though he couldn't vouch for Sam, but even he could admit that they were almost dangerously codependent on each other. Everyone in the world saw it; there was no way that he could pretend like he didn't see it as well. It wasn't sexual at all….in fact the thought of that made him want to kill himself…but it was kind of like they were married in some sick and twisted sort of way.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it."

Dean gave his brother an irritated look, "But, he's the chick."

"I am so not the chick!" Sam argued, his arms folded over his chest.

Stephanie burst out laughing, "Neither one of you are very chick-like, okay? The fact that you're arguing over this….well, I'm not sure if it's funny or disturbing." On that note she headed out of the panic room, turning back just to laugh at them once more. She had to admit it; she was feeling so much better already. Being back with the Winchesters was doing her a world of good. Sure, getting back in the saddle with Dean (in more ways than one) was an awesome thing, but starting to feel as though she could relax and enjoy life again…that was irreplaceable.

* * *

An hour later, after everyone had bathed, changed and eaten, they were all gathered in Bobby's living room, listening to Bobby speak. "There is a hunt I need you to go on." Bobby explained, "I believe it's werewolves. Five people are already dead and there will probably be a few more before you even get there. It's like a werewolf breeding ground and they're either biting people or tearing them to shreds."

Dean folded his arms; he really did not want to get back to business so soon, "Where is it?"

"Only a couple hours away in Hill City, South Dakota." Bobby told them.

Dean frowned, "I can't leave yet. It will just have to wait a few days."

Sam folded his arms, "Dean, the longer we wait the more people will die."

Dean sighed, why did it always have to be them to fucking save the damn planet? Why couldn't they ever just have five minutes to think about their own lives and do what they needed to do for themselves and the people they loved? "Fine."

Stephanie jumped up, "If you two are leaving then I'm going with you."

Dean shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea. There are demons after you; the best place for you is right here."

Sam folded his arms, "I have to say that I agree with Dean on this one."

She frowned, "I finally just got back with you guys. Why in the hell would you want to ditch me so fast?"

Dean went to her, sitting down beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "We don't want to get rid of you. We want to take you with us, but it's not really safe right now. You can stay here with Bobby and you'll be perfectly safe. After the hunt we will come back and figure out what to do next."

She ran a hand through her hair, her eyes pleading with them, "I want to be with you."

Dean hung his head, he wanted her with them. He knew he was going to worry the entire time that they were gone that something bad would happen to her. He didn't like any of the options that were on the table. He didn't want to be away from her but he didn't want her to get eaten by a werewolf or get attacked while in the motel room without them. "Steph, you know how I am; I wouldn't be able to bring you along on the actual hunt anyway. You'd be stuck in the motel or in the car and you'd be vulnerable. Unfortunately the safest place for you to be right now is right here. Demons can't get to you in the panic room, that's the best we can do right now."

She nodded; she knew there was nothing she could do to change their minds. Unfortunately, Stephanie was majorly outvoted on this one. She would stay there with Bobby, spending as much time as she could within the walls of the panic room, trying not to get killed. She knew she was safe there and that they would come back for her when they could.

Sam smiled at her and reached across his brother to squeeze her knee, "We'll bring you back some clothes."

She smiled at that. Sam was looking at her so hopefully that she couldn't bear to let him down. "Okay, okay. I'll stop acting like a whiny girl and accept my fate."

* * *

The boys spent the next hour stocking up on ammo and weapons and going over the details with Bobby. Knowing what they were up against was a definitely benefit. They knew what items they would need for the hunt and could load up all the silver bullets they could get their hands on. Stephanie spent the time preparing sandwiches and snacks for the road so that they wouldn't have to stop for anything. She wanted to do her part to help them as much as she could.

As she was preparing the sandwiches, Sam came up behind her in the kitchen, "Hey, thanks for all of this."

She smiled, "It isn't any big deal, they're just sandwiches." She strategically placed water bottles, beer, fruit and the sandwiches into one of Bobby's coolers, loading it up with ice to keep everything cold. "Definitely want to make sure you transfer these to a refrigerator when you get there."

Sam nodded, "Don't worry; I don't think either of us really wants food poisoning."

She smiled at him and reached over to hug him, "Maybe when you come back we can hang a little bit."

"Sure." He said, kissing her on the top of the head. One thing was for certain, he genuinely cared for her as if she was family. It didn't matter what kinds of feelings he had for her, he wouldn't ever want to do anything to ruin what they had.

Dean appeared in the doorway then, "What's going on in here? I hope you aren't seducing my brother, cause it doesn't take much to get him all week in the knees."

Stephanie smiled, giving Sam's ass a light smack, "Don't worry, if I had been seducing him we'd be doing more than hugging right now." Stephanie knew how to be sassy when she wanted to be. She stuck her tongue out at Dean and then smiled at him hugely.

Sam laughed, "I resent that Dean; you're an ass."

Dean shrugged, "I'm adorable and you love me." He went to Stephanie then, pulling her to him and placing a long, passionate kiss on her lips. Sam bowed out gracefully, leaving the room so that the two lovers could have a few minutes alone, stopping only for a second to grab the cooler with the food and drinks.

"Try not to get yourself killed, Dean." Stephanie said, gravely. "You know I hate knowing you're on a hunt without me."

He nodded, "I know. We'll be okay, don't worry." He knew there was no chance of her not worrying, but he still had to say it anyway. "Besides, I'll be calling to check in."

She kissed him again, "See that you do."

"You stay safe too, okay? Don't spend a lot of time out of that panic room." He told her, running his hands through her hair.

She nodded at him, "I won't."

Sam tapped on the wall, announcing his presence, "We should get going."

Dean nodded at his brother, gave Stephanie one more long kiss and then followed Sam out of the house, stopping very briefly to say his goodbyes to Bobby.

After they were gone Stephanie felt such a sense of emptiness. She wrapped herself in her arms and looked at Bobby uncomfortably. She hardly knew the man, yet she did trust him. She knew that Bobby had been like a father to the brothers and that was enough for her.

Bobby inspected her clothing. She was wearing a pair of Dean's sweats and one of Sam's t-shirts. She looked like a homeless person, swimming in their clothing. "I think I have some clothes upstairs that might be more your size." He led her upstairs to a guest bedroom and over to the closet. The closet was full of women's clothes. Some of the clothes were quite dated, but some pieces were nice. She could work with what was there. She looked at him quizzically, her head cocked to the side. It was as if he knew exactly what question she wanted to ask, "They belonged to my wife."

Stephanie gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew what had become of the man's poor wife and how that had led him to become a hunter. The Winchesters had filled her in on the essential bits of the story. She just couldn't believe that the man was kind enough to allow her to wear the clothing that he had been keeping all this time. It obviously meant a great deal to him or he would have gotten rid of it, but yet he allowed her to wear it all the same. "Thank you so much." She gently touched the man's arm, showing him that she truly appreciated the gesture. She instantly knew that she was going to be alright there, Bobby would look out for her and would care for her because he was a caring man and because they both genuinely loved the same set of brothers.


	16. Chapter 15: Don't Fear the Reaper

A/N: I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing this story over the long time since I first started this thing. I think it's been about a year since I last updated and I cannot apologize enough for that. I am sincerely thankful to everyone who has been supportive of me and my writing. Thank you so much!

When I first started this story I pretty much wrote the first thirteen chapters or something within the span of a week or two...something crazy like that...it had consumed me and pretty much wrote itself. Well, something happened and it stopped writing itself. I think I just got burned out and had too many other responsibilities. Anyway, I have written three more chapters of this story and am on a roll again. I plan to finish around chapter 20 or so rather than drag this out, but hopefully I hit all the bases and answer everyone's questions. These chapters are going to be pretty packed with stuff. Hopefully everyone will enjoy them! Please let me know if it was worth finishing this. Hopefully I haven't lost my stride with this thing.

I also want to send out a special thank you to rawr-nessie for the amazing message of encouragement. It meant so much to me to read that message and it really compelled me to pick this back up and see if I could get back into it. So far it has worked and I hope I can finish this in the best, most efficient way possible. So, thank you so much!

Actually spent a lot of time on an alternate sequel that would've replaced this story (I wouldn't remove this one, just have an alternate that is much different). I have quite a bit of that written so I may finish that one up too and post that one once this one's done. But, this one has my attention for right now. Thanks again and sorry for a really long author's note.

-Sara

* * *

Chapter 15

_Don't Fear the Reaper_

Stephanie had found sleep impossible that night. With the Winchesters gone, the panic room dark and knowing what was out there looking for her, she couldn't find any rest. She knew she was safest where she was, but she quickly realized that it wasn't just a demon-proof room that made her feel safe…it was the men that she loved as her family.

Dean had left her with one of his spare cellphones in case she needed to call them, and she was certainly tempted, but she didn't think she should disrupt them on their hunt.

So, she just laid there, curled up on her side, staring at the iron ceiling above her head and praying to God that the boys would be safe and come home soon. She also found herself praying that her family was safe and that whatever was happening with the demons would stop. She knew better than to think that was going to happen, but she couldn't help praying for it. Stephanie was big on prayer, which had been the only thing to get her through that last year.

She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to sleep. That's when she heard a beeping sound coming from that spare phone. She shot up like a light and grabbed it from the desk and flipped it open, revealing a text from Sam.

_Sam: Hey, how are you? Dean's sleeping, but I couldn't. I was worried about you._

_ Stephanie: Hey Sam. I'm okay, I guess. Having trouble sleeping too. _

_ Sam: I'm sorry._

_ Stephanie: How's your hunt going?_

_ Sam: Haven't done much beside research and talking with the authorities at this point. We don't even know who the werewolf is._

_ Stephanie: Do you think it's just one?_

_ Sam: We aren't sure, but I hope so. Really want to get this case over quickly._

_ Stephanie: You miss me or something?_

_ Sam: Of course._

_ Stephanie: That's sweet, Sam. When you get back we'll have a you and me date. I promise._

_ Sam: Sounds great. Dean's snoring._

_ Stephanie: lol, I'm sorry._

_ Sam: It's actually grown to be comforting after all these years if you can imagine that._

_ Stephanie: Aw, you two really are like an old married couple._

_ Sam: Shut up._

_ Stephanie: lol, jk._

_ Sam: Yeah, yeah._

_ Stephanie: Thanks for texting me, Sam. Really made me feel better. Talking to you always relaxes me._

_ Sam: Good. I'm really glad to hear you say that._

_ Stephanie: There's something I want to tell you, but I don't know how to say it._

_ Sam: You can tell me anything, Steph._

_ Stephanie: I'm sorry that I had to hurt you last year, Sam. I'm sorry that I led you on. I never wanted to be that kind of person. You mean so much to me and I hate that I hurt you. _

_ Sam: Stop Steph, it's fine. Don't worry about it._

_ Stephanie: I already am, obviously._

_ Sam: We can talk more about it on our date. I'm super excited about that…just so you know._

_ Stephanie: Me too!_

_ Sam: Eyes are getting heavy. Talk to you tomorrow, Steph, promise._

_ Stephanie: I will be here. Night Sam._

_ Sam: Goodnight beautiful._

She was too drained to think about that last word he had sent her. It had just been a friendly thing, right? Her eyes felt droopy and she realized that maybe she would actually be able to sleep. Having talked to him made her realize that they weren't that far away and she wasn't really alone. Within minutes she was asleep, a contented smile on her face.

* * *

Stephanie woke the next day in the panic room. For a second she was scared and couldn't remember where she was and then it came flooding back to her. She was safe at Bobby's house and protected by hunters. A smile formed on her face despite the fact that she knew the Winchesters weren't currently there. They were only a couple hours away though, and they would probably be back in a couple of days.

She went upstairs and smiled at Bobby when she passed by him in the living room. He was on the phone with someone.

"You getting a read off this case? Do you think it's just one or do we have an infestation?" Bobby asked, giving her a wave in greeting.

She walked into the kitchen and looked around. She made a face. It looked like Bobby had attempted to make some breakfast, but hadn't succeeded. There was burned up toast and watery eggs lying on the counter. "Yuck." She mumbled to herself. She quickly went to work searching Bobby's cabinets for useful baking materials so that she could make some muffins or something. Once she got all the ingredients together that she needed she whipped up a double batch of blueberry muffins and put them in the oven. She figured it would be best to have something easy that they could heat up in a pinch. And, she wouldn't be forced to eat Bobby's cooking.

Once the muffins were in the oven he walked into the kitchen. "Mornin'."

She smiled, "Good morning."

"You making muffins?"

She nodded, "Yup. Is that okay?"

"Of course." He set his phone down on the table and turned back to her, "That was the boys. They think they know who the werewolf is and anticipate being back by tomorrow or the day after."

Stephanie couldn't hide the wide smile that formed on her face, "That's great. So, they're okay then?"

"Yup."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dean said he'd call you later."

She nodded. She wasn't really that great at communicating with people she didn't know very well but he was being very kind to her. "So, you want me to clean up the kitchen a little bit? I'd love to earn my keep."

Bobby shook his head, "You don't need to worry none about that. You're a guest." He scratched at the back of his neck, "You know, it's funny; I never thought I would see Dean get serious about anyone…ever."

"I think he's pretty surprised about it too to be honest."

"Always wanted more for those boys than this life. I really thought Sam was going to get it too, but Dean…knew he was too stubborn to every really be happy. But, now I'm not so sure…"

She sat down at the table and studied the older man's face, "I don't know how it's all going to work out. I mean I still have a family, a life, but I love them. I love both of them…differently…but I still love them both. They've been there for me every step of the way, you know? They dropped everything else to find me and keep me safe. Who else would do something like that? I owe them my life."

"Way I understand it you saved their hides too last time you were all together." He gave her a sympathetic smile, "Sorry about what Lucifer did by the way. Must've been tough."

She nodded, "Yeah, it was. I just tried my best to find Sam in there and hold onto him. Kept reminding myself that I had to be strong or it could get real bad."

"Sounds like you're a lot stronger than people give you credit for sometimes."

She just smiled at the older man, understanding why the boys loved him so much. She anticipated that he cared more about the Winchesters than even their father had. They talked openly to each other until they heard the ding of the oven's timer going off.

* * *

Paul knocked on the newly fixed door of the Hill apartment and Chuck answered the door. "Paul."

Paul frowned. Their relationship had been strained because of what happened between him and Stephanie – which he completely admitted was entirely his fault – but it was only worse now. It seemed they were at an impasse; Chuck couldn't stand the sight of his face because he had slept with Stephanie and Paul couldn't stand Chuck because of what he had done to Stephanie. He put up his hand "I come in peace."

"What do you want?"

"Guess there's no love lost between us." They used to be best friends.

"Now is a rotten time for me."

"Yeah, I heard that she's back with Sam and Dean."

"How can you say their names…like they're people?" Chuck asked with a glare on his face.

"They are people, Chuck, and they're trying to keep her safe."

Chuck glared down at Paul, his eyes menacing and almost demonic. "How could you side with them? They're monsters, animals. Tiffany told me all the things they've done!"

Paul was confused, "Tiffany? What exactly does she know about them?"

"She knows plenty!"

"Look she's your wife and I get that you're pissed, but she trusts them. This is Stephanie, if she trusts them then they must be okay."

"She's crazy, Paul. She thinks demons are after her."

"Maybe they are."

Chuck growled, lashing out against his old friend, planting a hard punch to Paul's jaw. "Shut the hell up, Paul! You don't know what you're talking about! The Winchesters are dangerous!"

Paul's hand instinctively went to his jaw, stunned, "I just don't think…"

Chuck's eyebrow shot up and he stared at Paul quizzically, "What did you do, Paul? I better not find out that you had something to do with her being back there with them…"

"Or what?" Paul exclaimed, piss off, "What are you gonna do?"

The muscles in Chuck's jaw flexed, revealing the depths of his anger. He pointed at the new door, "Get the hell out!"

Paul put his hands up and left, realizing that he didn't have much other choice. He'd never seen Chuck look at anyone like that. Normally his old best friend was passive and gentle…but he was acting much like the monster that he was accusing the Winchesters of being.

Paul, full of frustration and anger, and with a sore jaw, threw the door of his apartment open and then slammed it shut behind him. All he could hear is blood pounding in his ears for a minute, but then he heard something else…Tiffany was talking to someone. He rolled his eyes. Who was it this time? Maybe she had another other man on the side like Chuck. There was no way Chuck could've called her that quickly, he was sure of it. Paul walked toward the bedroom, where his wife was and started to walk in.

Tiffany, turning her back to him, trying to cover up whatever the hell it was that she was doing this time, practically growled at him, "Get out, Paul! I'm doing something in private."

"I'm your husband!"

"So what? You sacrificed your husband privileges when you screwed my best friend! Get out of here, now!"

Paul huffed out of the room and then he heard Tiffany's phone ringing. She grumbled but answered it.

"Chuck darling."

Paul dropped down onto the couch, his head spinning. Things were just fucking weird. He grabbed his phone and quickly texted the Winchester's phones that something strange was going on, he just wasn't sure what exactly. Before he could even get his phone back in his pocket Tiffany practically flew in the room, looking seriously pissed off and hardcore crazy.

"What the fuck is this I hear about you betraying us and handing her over to the enemy?"

Paul grimaced. "Don't you think that's a tad bit harsh? They care about her." How come nobody was getting this?

"That is enough, Paul! I have put up with your crap long enough."

"So I told them where she was, so I listened to some of your stupid conversations with Chuck, so what? It's not like I killed anyone. She's fine. I've talked to her…" Maybe he should've kept that tidbit to himself.

"Oh yeah? The number's still in your phone I bet. Bet it would be pretty easy to figure out where she is."

"Not gonna happen!"

"Wanna bet?" Tiffany pulled her gun out of her back pocket and leveled it to Paul's head. "Look, I've been nice. I've kept you around, mainly because you're the baby's father and I thought you might be useful, but it appears that you are no longer needed."

Paul's life flashed before his eyes. He saw himself as a child, on his little league team. He watched himself grow up into a teenager, when he fell in love with Tiffany in the first damn place. His whole life had revolved around her at that point in his life. They had been high school sweethearts, had broken up for a little bit in college and then had found each other again. He had been so sure she was the one for him, he would've bet everything he had on that, but clearly he was dead wrong. But, Tiffany wasn't really Tiffany…was she? The last memory that hit him in that moment was one of Stephanie…the one he really loved, the one he would've given everything for…the one he was giving everything for in that moment.

"I hope she was worth it for you, Paul." Tiffany said, as if she possessed the power to read his mind. Maybe she did, he wasn't sure what she was capable of anymore.

He closed his eyes and silently prayed to himself that she was just playing around, that she wasn't capable of using that weapon against him. "Tiffany…"

"Try again." She said, her eyes changing…completely filling up with black. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that something was really fucking wrong.

"Oh God!" He had never experienced gripping fear like that in his life. He knew what was about to happen to him, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to die. But, he was thankful he had managed to help get Stephanie to safety before this had happened. How had he been blind to this? How is that possible?

"He can't help you now!" She laughed darkly as she pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet flashed through the air and hit him square in the chest.


	17. Chapter 16: Play With Fire

A/N: I just wanted to thank those of you who read the latest chapter and have been so supportive of what I have done with it. That really keeps me motivated to finish this story. I've been real nervous about posting this, worried that it wasn't going to be up to the standard set in Supernatural Amnesia, but upon rereading it I think it's decent. I hope you'll like it. Let me know what you think. :) Thanks guys!

So far I have written 19 chapters. Not sure how long I'm going to make it. A lot of stuff happens in the next few chapters...kinda makes my head spin. But, hopefully you'll find it exciting and won't hate me too much for what I've done. Thanks again!

-Sara

* * *

Chapter 16

_Play With Fire_

Bobby bit into one of Stephanie's muffins and smiled.

"How are they?" She asked, holding her breath. There was nothing she wanted more in that moment – besides seeing her knights in shining armor – than to impress this man who the Winchesters idolized so much.

"Delicious." He said with a smile. "You know, my wife used to make muffins this good. You got a secret ingredient in here?"

Stephanie laughed, "Maybe."

"Tell an old drunk, will you?"

"I'd have to kill you and I doubt Dean and Sam would like that very much."

He just shrugged and pretty much devoured the rest of the muffin.

She smiled, thoroughly glad that he enjoyed it. "I made a double batch, but if we run out I can certainly make more."

"I'll have to make sure I send one of those idjits to the store to stock up on baking supplies when they get back." He grabbed another muffin from the tin, blew on it for about four seconds and dug into it.

Stephanie raised her eyes. Steam was pouring from those things…how was Bobby's mouth not burnt to a crisp? Before she had a chance to answer it, Bobby's phone went off.

He set his muffin down on the table and answered his phone, "Better be pretty damn important if you're interrupting my breakfast." Stephanie watched as the older man's face paled a bit, "Oh, uh…okay." Bobby caught Stephanie's eye and then looked away quickly, "Yeah, Sam, uh huh. The coast isn't clear. Yeah…do you need assistance?"

Stephanie's mouth opened to speak, something was going on, but she closed it back up after she caught the look on Bobby's face. It was clear that she wasn't going to get any information out of him in that minute.

When the man hung up the phone she looked at him with anticipation, "Bobby, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Oh yeah right." She said in annoyance.

"Well, we're making a trade. Dean's dropping Sam back off here and he's going to stay with you while I go with him on a hunt."

"They got rid of the werewolves that fast?" She asked in surprise.

"No, they need to go back after."

"After what?"

"Something came up that seems like it might be more urgent than the werewolf case."

"Like what?" Now she was worried. She was worried because it seemed like Bobby was keeping something from her and that whatever it was that they were doing was really freaking dangerous. Dean could get hurt…or worse.

* * *

Chuck grumbled as he walked into his friends' apartment. His head was down and he was feeling super dejected. How could the man he used to call his best friend be guilty of betraying him in two of the worst ways imaginable? How is that possible that he could do something like that? What kind of monster was Paul?

What Chuck saw when he looked up was something that he immediately knew he would see over and over again in his nightmares. There Tiffany was, standing across from Paul, who was strapped to a chair and very near dead. When Chuck was finally able to find his voice, he shouted, "Tiffany! What the hell are you doing? I'm mad at him, but I'm not THAT mad at him!"

When she looked over at him she had a horrible, evil smile on her face. "Chuck, Chuck, Chuck…could you really be that stupid? Did you really think that I was good and the Winchesters were bad? How fucked up is that?" Then she began to laugh.

Chuck looked at Paul then, "Paul, buddy, you okay? You still alive?"

"Not when I get through with him."

"Why? Why do you want to hurt him?"

Tiffany's eyes filled with black once again, "Because it's the right thing to do. Just like giving Stephanie those drugs was the right thing to do…just like traipsing all over the country with her was the right thing to do…just like keeping her from the only people in the whole world who could've stopped all of this was the right thing to do."

"Please! Tiffany, don't…"

Paul's weak voice was barely recognizable, "She hasn't been Tiffany for a while."

"Shit." Chuck said with a gasp, "How long?"

Tiffany cocked her head to the side, "Does it really matter how long?"

"Yes, it does…to me."

Then she smiled, "You want to know if you fucked a demon, don't you? Well, I think we have bigger fish to fry. Like, for starters, how are you going to save your friends here? I can't promise not to do anything to kill this pretty meat suit I'm wearing…and this one…he's pretty much as good as dead…"

"Please! I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

Chuck closed his eyes. He couldn't stand to look at Tiffany like that; it broke his heart, "Anything."

"There's only one thing you can possibly do to save your friends, and your wife…"

Chuck bristled. "What is it?"

She looked at him with a smile on her face, "This is going to be perfect!"

Chuck wanted to know what the hell she was talking about, but then he realized that he probably didn't because it was probably going to be the worst fucking thing he'd ever done in his life.

* * *

When Sam and Dean arrived Stephanie went out to greet them.

Dean walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her back into the house. "What are you doing outside? It's not safe."

She frowned, "Dean I can go outside for a couple minutes. Besides there are three hunters here…"

"Even so, you gotta promise me that you'll stay inside." Dean turned to his brother then, "You keep her inside too…no matter what she says or does."

"Sure." Sam said, unloading his pack from the car. "I know the drill, Dean."

Stephanie knew well enough to know that Sam and Dean were communicating about more than just her staying inside. There was something big going on, but for some reason they didn't want her to know.

Bobby stuck a bag in the back seat of the Impala and turned to Sam, "take care of my house. Don't make a mess."

"Couldn't possibly get messier than it already is." Sam said with an eye roll.

Stephanie smirked.

"And save me some damn muffins!" He smiled nicely at Stephanie and then got into the passenger seat of Dean's beloved car.

Dean pulled Stephanie into a hug, "You be careful." He kissed her, "Wish I could stay here with you."

"Why can't you and Sam switch places?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"Just can't." He tightened his grip on her, not wanting to let go. "I love you."

She smiled, "I love you too, Dean."

Sam was uncomfortable. "Okay, you should probably get going, Dean. And Steph, we need to get you inside." He took Stephanie's hand and pulled her inside the house, shutting the door behind them.

Stephanie frowned, "What the hell is going on? Why is everything so hush hush?"

Sam shook his head, "You know I've been instructed not to tell you about it."

She folded her arms over her chest, "I will make you crack Sam, you will give in to me!"

Sam raised his eyebrow, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

She just giggled.

* * *

"What do I need to do?" Chuck asked.

"It's just one word. One little word. You just have to say yes, Chuckie." She told him.

"What's the word?" Chuck asked, confused.

"The word is yes." She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Humans could be so dense sometimes.

"Okay, yes then." Chuck said, confused.

Tiffany sighed, "The rules state that you have to know what it is that you're saying yes to. Look, he's an angel and he needs to take over your body for a little while so that he can take care of a few things on earth that need some fixing. But, I promise you that your wife will be safe and so will your friends. He wouldn't hurt them."

"Who is it? Who's the angel?"

"Does that really matter right now? I'm giving you an opportunity to save the people that you love." She moved closer to him, looking up into his face, "This is a good deal…you should take it."

Chuck sighed. "Is this on the level? Are you for real right now? There isn't any fine print on this deal, right?"

"Would I lie to you?" She asked with a smile. "This is the real deal. When we make deals we have to keep them. I promise you that he will not hurt Tiffany, Paul or Stephanie. That's the best I can do for you right now." She put out her hand and twisted her wrist around and Paul writhed in pain, "We can keep talking and I can keep torturing until he dies or you can take the deal now…"

Chuck put his hand up, "Fine! Yes, I say yes!"

A huge grin spread out on her face, "Done!"

With that a blinding white light overcame the room and both Chuck and Paul were forced to close their eyes. The sound that accompanied that light was extremely ear-piercingly high pitched.

* * *

Sam popped the last bite of one of Stephanie's muffins into his mouth. "God, these are awesome. Will you marry me?"

She laughed.

He smiled back at her. "You know I'd never do that to my brother."

"How does that all work with you two anyway? I mean, you and I hit it off first and then…I…"

Sam shook his head, "It's a moot point at this point. Look, I'm not an idiot. I know you love him and he loves you. You love him in the kind of way you could never love me. It's okay; it's just the way it is. You and Dean…you connect differently than we do."

"I love you too Sam, with all my heart, you know that."

"Yeah, we're family. It's different. Not that I wouldn't totally hit that…"

She blushed, swatting his arm, "You're terrible."

"Yeah, I know. Whenever I act shitty I blame it on the demon blood in me and you know…that seems to cover anything and everything."

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "You aren't defined by that little tiny bit of evil blood in you, Sam. You aren't evil, it's the blood, and it's not you. It's not a part of the person that you were born to be."

"That's not what Lucifer likes to tell me…"

She shook her head, "What Azazel did to you was bad, but you aren't bad, Sam. You were just a baby; you couldn't control what he did to you. You should just be thankful that you had a demon-blood-free big brother to look out for you and keep your ass out of trouble."

Sam smiled and nodded, "Sometimes I have to keep him out of trouble too."

"See…that's give and take. That's family right there. And, you and me…we're family, Sam. So, all that shit that went down last year…I'd like to put that all behind us and move on."

He searched out the depths of her eyes, "You still have nightmares about it?"

She sighed and looked down at her hands, willing up the courage to answer his question. "Yeah, I do. I'm prone to nightmares. That's why I used to take the sleeping pills… and that's probably why he liked to give me that stupid crazy-medicine."

"I'm so sorry about that, Steph, you have no idea."

"It's not your fault, Sam."

"I said yes. I didn't have to do that, I shouldn't have done that."

She shook her head, reaching over to squeeze his big hand in hers, "there isn't anything we can do to change what happened, Sam, all we can do is move on from it. I really feel like things are going to be okay now, okay Sam? I love you."

He sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I love you too, more than you'll ever know."

She swallowed hard. It was difficult. Sam was fucking sexy as all get out, and he was built like a house…he was huge…in every way imaginable. She wanted him more than she could express, but what she felt for Dean was so much more than lust and sex. She knew that what she had with Dean was real, but it didn't make rejecting Sam any easier to do.

Sam shook his head, trying to clear it. He smiled nervously, "We need to get down to the panic room."

"Please tell me what's going on."

The look in her eyes ripped him to shreds. "Paul texted us that something was wrong, so Dean and Bobby are headed there now."

"Oh." She shook her head, "What could it be?"

"We don't know for sure, but there seems to be a lot of demons there for some reason."

"Why didn't you go instead of Dean or Bobby? You're the best at dealing with those maggots."

Sam looked away, "They're afraid it has something to do with Lucifer."

Stephanie's throat went completely dry. "Lucifer." She ran her hand through her hair absently, "But, why are the demons in Oswego? I mean, Lucifer wants me, doesn't he? He must know I'm not there."

Sam sighed, "We don't think the demons were ever following you, not really."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped, "It's Chuck isn't it?"

Sam looked at her sadly.

Stephanie jumped to her feet, "Oh God, why are demons after Chuck? And, what's more…what the hell does this all have to do with Lucifer?"


End file.
